


Hello Strangers

by CitizenoftheWorld



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Arguing, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Brotherhood, Established Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Established Kim Namjoon | RM/Park Jimin, Family Feels, Famous Kim Namjoon | RM, Famous Park Jimin (BTS), Feels, Fights, Gen, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope & Min Yoongi | Suga are Best Friends, Kim Seokjin | Jin-centric, M/M, Mention of blood and violence, Other, Past, People hit people, Platonic Relationships, Poor people problems, Reddit Posts, Seokjin asks the internet for advice, Smoking, Strong Language, curse words, discussions, don't leave a brother hanging, insecure, people are mean, people having dark thoughts., people mentioning drugs, people thinking very bad about themselves, reader in put, romantic relationships, that's you :), this is done through a register
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21977935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CitizenoftheWorld/pseuds/CitizenoftheWorld
Summary: --- Seokjin's Reddit post ---Hello strangers on the internet. This is my first post, so please be kind lolFor about a year now my friends stopped reaching out to me. It has always been me trying to reach out to them, and when I do I either get ignored or rejected. I haven't seen them in a year.[Seokjin's friends have left him behind, Seokjin's soulmates are famous people. It takes an accident for Seokjin to get back into contact with the six boys that had defined his life. He feels strange about it, and writes Reddit posts to get advice from strangers. Are you willing to give him advice?]
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin/Park Jimin
Comments: 83
Kudos: 150





	1. Hello Strangers, I want to ask for help

**Author's Note:**

> **Please read the tags.**
> 
> This story has an interactive element that does not require participation, but that would be nice! As you'll learn by reading a certain character is asking the internet for advice. After reading this would you be kind and respond to their Reddit post? I will be picking responses for in the next chapter. The formatting in the comments for this is as follows: [TO REDDIT OP: {insert your response}]
> 
> Please read this chapter and let me know what you’d thought of it.

### [The Reddit Post: Draft – “I haven’t spoken to my friends for a year”]

Hello strangers on the internet. This is my first post, so please be kind lol

For about a year now my friends stopped reaching out to me. It has always been me trying to reach out to them, and when I do I either get ignored or rejected. I haven’t seen them in a year.

And don’t get me wrong, I understand that people live busy lives, and they have all been busy since we stopped living together (I’m the only one who doesn’t really have a life or whatever lol). So I was wondering what I should do. I love my brothers till death, I gave up on some of my dreams for them to be where they are today, but they seem to have all shut me out. Then again, I have no other friends for reference. I just wanted to know whether this is normal. Please be kind in the comments haha. I welcome all advise.

(PS. my soulmates rejected me through the system, so it’s not like I can hang out with them. My parents were the only family I had, so my friends mean the world to me. Don’t be too mean about them)

### [The Corner of a Story]

Seokjin looked over at his post, he twirled the cigarette in his hands once, then twice, took a drag – “fuck,” he puffed out a cloud of bad taste and energy.

It only felt natural to not try to stand out in a place like this. His little spot against the corner store was as bleak as you’d expect it to be on an October day on the edge of the big city full of dreamers. Seokjin had a clear view of the skyline, and during daytime the smog was as vivid as the foul taste in his mouth. Seokjin should really stop smoking. His boss must know that the free cigarettes are part of the main reasons for Seokjin not to abandon this quiet place. That and the fact that Seokjin lived on top of the gas station down the road.

There was this irrational fear and hope that someone would stop by this very gas station and turn out to be someone Seokjin knew. He would hope one of his friends to show up. Someone as engaging as Hoseok to pull up and go like _Hey, brother! It’s been so long. I missed you so much, I’m sorry for not reaching out. I’m about to head out of town, but on my way back we should definitely meet up. I’ll even call the other guys and we can all have dinner. Right? Just like in the old days._ Wow, that would be epic if you’d ask Seokjin. But he can’t help but fear that someone of the likes of Namjoon would suddenly show up and chase him down screaming _Where do you think you’re going! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! We’re soulmates for fuck’s sakes. Do you know how Jimin feels? He’s been crying ever since. The three of us could have made it work! I know this. I know other soulmates who have two bonds._ Oh no, that would be awkward. Too complicated to even explain in a Reddit post. Seokjin liked things to be easy, and to not hurt.

But right now it hurt. Seokjin had been numb to all the events that lead to this corner store, but lately nothingness seemed to have a great power to overthrow everything – every emotion. The more he got time to be alone, sitting alone behind a desk, talking to two or three people throughout an entire day – the more he got to spend time with himself – the more he started to understand that this is how people go insane. Seokjin was going insane. And it hurt because he was forced to face the truth.

He felt lonely.

His finger hovered over the _post_ button on his phone screen. He took one more drag of his cigarette and said _fuck_ a bunch of times. There, he was ready to do something stupid.

But then-

It was quite pathetic that it took Seokjin a solid twenty seconds to understand that his screen going black and vibrating – there a red button and a green button appeared – meant that someone was calling him.

It was Yoongi.

“Fuck,” Seokjin said for the _n_ -th during his break. He even dropped his cigarette. He tapped on the green button, and held the phone against his ear. He could hear the blood rushing towards his ears. “Hello?” Seokjin said. Two syllables, and Seokjin aimed to sound friendly, cool, not angry or desperate, inviting, responsible and happy all together, but most importantly not hurt.

“Seokjin,” Yoongi said. Seokjin could not read his tone, all he could hear was that this was indeed Yoongi speaking to him. Not some imposter. So Yoongi had not changed his number. The texts that Seokjin had sent in their group chat had in fact been ignored given that Yoongi had not changed his number. Yoongi was on the phone sounding like Yoongi and no one else. “Seokjin this is you, right?”

Seokjin coughed. “Yeah, yeah. This is me. It’s been awhile,” Seokjin said feeling uneasy. This is what he wanted, right? The universe must have seen him write his little Reddit post and thought _let’s save this boy the hassle._

“Yes, it’s been awhile. Sorry about that,” Yoongi sounded rushed. “I need your help. That’s why I called.”

“Is everything okay? Are you okay?” Seokjin asked, not necessarily feeling worried, more like obligated to ask these questions in a conversation like this.

Yoongi paused. There was noise in the background. Some large place with people. “No,” Yoongi answered, “everything is not okay. We’re at the hospital. Taehyung got hurt.”

Seokjin took the day off. His boss wasn’t even angry, which made Seokjin angry. A little something like _Come on Seokjin, I pay you to work and keep the shop open. Not to run off whenever it suits you! You bad boy!_ would have been enough to make Seokjin feel like he was making a sacrifice. It would have made him feel less guilty about thinking of not going to the hospital.

Because how did a broke person on the outskirts of the dream city get to the hospital?

Seokjin walked three miles to a bus stop. He then had to jump in front of the bus to make the bus driver actually stop and let him in. Once inside the bus, Seokjin learned that the fare prices had gone up and he begrudgingly paid with the change he collected from around the shop. Once seated in the bus he ran over the details Yoongi had sent in their dead like group chat.

Apparently Taehyung had been in the hospital for a little over a week now. He was caught up in a car accident. It was Taehyung’s fault. The cops were involved. The last part of the details gave Seokjin a hunch on why he was contacted. There was a settlement. Seokjin hadn’t thought about such a large amount of money in a long time.

Just like he hadn’t seen the faces of his friends in a long time. When he entered the welcome centre of the hospital, Seokjin was greeted by a hooded set of eyes.

Jungkook had grown. Angular jaw, broader shoulders and no red but black hair.

If Seokjin hadn’t known any better, he would have been intimidated. Maybe that’s what Jungkook wanted. Shoe everyone away that got closer to his partner. Seokjin was a little surprised that Jungkook wasn’t glued to Taehyung’s bedside.

“Your hair is so long,” Jungkook said when saying nothing became awkward. Seokjin trailed his hand through his hair, got it stuck since it was in a bun, and looked the other way self-consciously.

“Yeah,” Seokjin agreed, “I thought why not.” Anyone with a clear set of eyes could see that his long hair, was unkept, and certainly not a choice, rather not a priority. Seokjin walked that line between survival and carelessness like champ. He had a lot of practice, thank you very much.

“Yoongi said he called you,” Jungkook said, not meeting Seokjin’s eye. Maybe Jungkook was also realising it. This was their first conversation in a year. This was their first conversation in a year!

In that moment Seokjin decided to give himself fifteen minutes. If by then he had not found a nice bathroom stall to properly break down, then he and anyone close by were in for something unpleasant.

“How’s Taehyung,” Seokjin asked to ask what was expected. “Is he okay?”

Jungkook nodded, but he looked worried. They said that soulmates can feel each other’s pain. This has been largely dramatized, but for this brief moment Seokjin would believe it. Jungkook looked hurt, and he didn’t try to hide it. “Follow me,” Jungkook said, “I’ll take you to his room.”

“Yoongi said the injuries aren’t that serious,” Seokjin continued. The way he didn’t fall silent and didn’t want Jungkook to feel awkward, made Seokjin hate himself just a tad bit more. He surely was desperate.

Jungkook nodded, as they walked through the hallways of the hospital after getting a pass from the front desk. “His right under arm and right foot are in caskets. It’s why it has been difficult for him to be discharged from the hospital. Both are broken, but the doctor said it was nicely done. It should be a steady recovery,” Jungkook explained.

When they reached the hallway, Seokjin knew immediately this was where they kept Taehyung because Hoseok and Yoongi were standing near a door. They looked like guard dogs, who seem to have not slept in over a week. It suddenly got very real.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Seokjin said. He stopped walking and Jungkook turned around with a frown. “I mean,” Seokjin elaborated, “I don’t think I can see Taehyung right now.” Hoseok and Yoongi walked up to them and Seokjin suddenly thought about all the escape routes he could take: one, and that meant turning around and walking right back from where he came.

“Seokjin,” Hoseok came up to him. He kept walking and it wasn’t until he was in Seokjin’s little bubble that it finally sunk. Hoseok embraced him in a hug. “You came.”

“Yeah,” Seokjin said, and patted Hoseok lightly on the back. Over his shoulder, Seokjin met Yoongi’s eyes.

“Don’t you want to check up on Taehyung, Jungkook?” Yoongi said. Seokjin didn’t get to see Jungkook’s look on his face. He detangled himself from Hoseok, and by then Jungkook had slipped inside Taehyung’s hospital room. It was just the three of them now, with the occasional nurse passing by.

These two guys were Seokjin’s oldest friends. And now it felt unfamiliar in a way that only familiar faces could establish.

“I can cut to the chase if you want me to,” Yoongi said.

“Yoongi,” Hoseok said disapprovingly.

“No, he’s right,” Seokjin said, unable to want to stall anything any longer. “Why did you call me? Why now?”

“It’s about the settlement,” Yoongi said. “None of us have that kind of money.”

Hoseok seemed to be the only one truly being nervous. He raised his hands in a peaceful manner, and used a quiet and gentle voice. “We understand that you also do not have that kind of money, but…”

“Taehyung could do a few days in jail,” Seokjin said lightly, “thought of that?”

Yoongi shrugged. “We did. But that would end his career as a teacher. Plus, you can get him that money.”

“Yoongi, that is not how you ask for things,” Hoseok said. He then looked at Seokjin. “Look, I didn’t know you’d been called already. I wanted to address you personally before dragging you all the way here. We are just a little desperate and want to help Taehyung out. If you can’t or don’t want to help, we understand, truly. We just wanted to run all our options.”

Seokjin had been downgraded to an option _. Hold it in… hold it in_.

“You’re asking a lot,” Seokjin said terse. “I can’t just go and… and ask them money.”

Hoseok nodded, as if he had known this answer would come. “Things ended badly between you three?”

Seokjin shrugged. “We just kind of stopped talking. You know Namjoon and Jimin, they’re always on television doing whatever. There is no way they have time for someone like me.”

The thing was; when Seokjin had reached his bus stop he had to look the other way, because the billboard had the two smiling faces of his soulmates. _This December, the Christmas special of MiniMoni will air at 7 on XXX_. Shit, that had been distracting. Seokjin would have missed his bus had he not jumped in front of it.

“Besides, if I did reach out,” Seokjin said tense, “what guarantees that they won’t ignore me, right? I mean, you guys should know.”

Hoseok flinched a bit at that. Yoongi remained unmoved. “It’s been….” Hoseok didn’t finish what he wanted to say. It didn’t sound like he wanted to apologise. “I understand,” Hoseok said, “All we really want and can ask you is to try and reach out to them if you want to help us. It is perfectly normal for you to want to leave us alone.”

Seokjin was the crazy one for not being perfectly normal as Hoseok said. Seokjin didn’t want to leave them alone, they must know this. That must be why they only now decided to call him. They knew he would bent at whatever it was they’d ask of him.

“I need,” Seokjin looked the other way. His fifteen minutes were almost up. “I need some time to think.”

“You started smoking again.”

Seokjin nearly yelped, and plucked the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it away. Too late now, anyway. Yoongi had seen everything. Seokjin folded his arms in an attempt to look at ease. “Yeah, well. Not really. I only- when I- sometimes, you see. Sometimes. Not always,” Seokjin tried. There it was again, the desperate need to placate them.

Yoongi joined him at the outside entrance of the hospital. Cars would stop by, busses would pass. It was pretty serene for some odd reason. Seokjin smoking here suddenly seemed very trashy.

“You said you would stop,” Yoongi said.

“Yeah well, you know how things go,” Seokjin mumbled. And Yoongi had the audacity to look disappointed. Seokjin started feeling hot, blood rushing.

“You were the one who made me stop,” Yoongi said with a tone that Seokjin truly did not understand.

“You weren’t exactly there to tell me off, you know,” Seokjin said, letting some of the hotness simmer out in a bitter tone. “You weren’t really there to make sure that I- whatever. You got a lighter, or…”

“You can punch me in the face if you want to,” Yoongi offered.

Seokjin gave the younger an incredulous look. “You’re kidding right?”

“No.”

Seokjin took a steadying breath. They were outside. It seemed more appropriate for him to fully confront his feelings out here in the open. No pressuring feeling of his injured little brother in the next room. No Hoseok that would look at him in a sad way. Or the mention of Namjoon or Jimin. Fuck, Seokjin hated his life and himself.

“I’m talking about this entire thing,” Seokjin responded. “You fucking called me with the same phone number, as if you haven’t been ignoring me. I don’t get it. The first thing you do when you reach out is ask for a big ass favour. How are you not ashamed.”

Yoongi was thinking, and settled for a something that Seokjin found very confusing. Maybe there was something he was missing. Maybe Yoongi was also very angry with something that Seokjin had done and forgotten about. Maybe Seokjin truly deserved to have been ignored for a year. Seokjin could not understand the ridiculous situation he found himself in because Yoongi said: “There is no time for me to feel ashamed. I care about Taehyung, so do you. We can both focus on that, and try to help him.”

“It’s your doing,” Seokjin said, uncrossing his arms, “you’re taking blame for all of this right now. You want me to only be angry at you. So, I wonder; is it truly your doing that we haven’t spoken in a year? That everyone has been ignoring me? Did you tell them to shut me out?”

Yoongi didn’t break their eye contact. He didn’t waver. “Yes,” he said.

Yoongi was a bad liar, and Seokjin was not given anything to go after the truth if Yoongi refused to share it when the opportunity had been handed over on a silver plate. Yoongi chose to lie, maybe not completely. Maybe he was in fact a large factor in their estranged relationship. But however large his contribution was, Seokjin saw too much red at that time to properly think.

He took Yoongi up on his offer and punched him in the face.

Taehyung was sleeping when Seokjin visited the boy around dinner time. His face, like Jungkook’s was more angular and he had broader shoulders. He had a few scrape wounds on his face, and Seokjin wondered whether Taehyung was scared. Seokjin knew that he himself was. He didn’t feel confident in how he felt. At the beginning of the day he had been certain that he felt lonely and that he wanted to meet up with his brothers again. But right now, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Seokjin glanced at his phone and wondered whether anyone out there would understand him. He wondered whether he should not just shut up and be of use to those who actually had something going for them. He had edited his Reddit post. It felt less pathetic now that he actually had something going on in his life. His fist was still bruised from punching Yoongi. That had been scary too. For a second Seokjin thought he’d knocked Yoongi out. Fortunately, Yoongi got up cursing and spitting blood. All good in the end. Seokjin had hesitated putting that in the post, but did so in the end. It was better that way. That way Seokjin would know whether the hate he felt towards himself was validated and shared amongst online strangers.

“Fuck,” Seokjin muttered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate myself,” he couldn’t stop thinking it. Taehyung was literally injured in the hospital and even Seokjin witnessing it from up close did not make him move fast enough to help his younger brother.

Seokjin took a breath in and then held it. He hit the _post_ button. He breathed out. He looked over at Taehyung’s unmoving body. It made something melt inside of Seokjin. He felt a sad smile creep on his lips. “Don’t worry, Taehyung,” he whispered, “I’ll help you no matter what.”

### [Seokjin’s Reddit Post: “I haven’t spoken to my friends for a year”]

Hello strangers on the internet. This is my first post, so please be kind lol

For about a year now my friends stopped reaching out to me. It has always been me trying to reach out to them, and when I do I either get ignored or rejected. I haven’t seen them in a year.

And don’t get me wrong, I understand that people live busy lives, and they have all been busy since we stopped living together (I’m the only one who doesn’t really have a life or whatever lol). I love my brothers till death, I gave up on some of my dreams for them to be where they are today, but they seem to have all shut me out. Then again, I have no other friends for reference. I just wanted to know whether this is normal.

Today one of them suddenly reached out to me, informing me that they are in some type of trouble. I am the only person that can help them. In order to help, I would have to reach out to my soulmates (I have two) whom I haven’t been in contact due to personal reasons. My friends ask me to reach out anyway and I want to help but also feel strange about this. It made me angry at first that it took an accident for them to reach out to me, I even punched one of them in the face ( I know this does not help my case, but mentioning it is only fair. Maybe for that alone I should help them out to make up for it, right? I don’t really know). What should I do? Help them out or not? This could be my only shot at having my friends back.

Please be kind in the comments haha. I welcome all advise.

(PS. My parents were the only family I had, so my friends mean the world to me. They’re like my brothers. Don’t be too mean about them).


	2. Hello Strangers, I'm sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the tags.  
> New tags added: people thinking very bad about themselves. people mentioning drugs. people having dark thoughts.
> 
> Please enjoy!

### [The Same Corner of the Story]

When Seokjin left the hospital to go back home, Jungkook stopped him to briefly share something that felt off-the-script. He looked sideways as if he were afraid either Yoongi or Hoseok would hear him. It was time to go home. Jungkook couldn’t do that. He wanted to stay at Taehyung’s side. What Jungkook wanted on top of that was for Seokjin to hear the following: “I’m really glad that you came here, brother, regardless of what will happen afterwards. I know we shouldn’t meet. That this isn’t what you or your soulmates… ahum, forget it. I’ll make sure to tell Taehyung that you came by. Thank you.”

Jungkook irked some curiosity and suspicion by Seokjin with that small little message. It made Seokjin not flat out reject the request Hoseok made when he waited with Seokjin at his bus stop. Hoseok asked Seokjin: “Would you be open to share some late dinner with Yoongi and I now? To talk this through a little?”

Seokjin said: “Yes, that sounds lovely.”

Yoongi had a car. It was on old model and made a funny sound every time he accelerated. It was the same car he talked about considering buying second hand right before they all moved out of their old dorm. Seokjin had been vouching for the car, saying that it would help him out in the future. Seokjin hadn’t known he’d convinced Yoongi until now. No one talked as Yoongi drove them to an apartment complex close enough to public transportation that would take you to the city centre.

Seokjin told himself not to look around the apartment once they were inside. He adverted his eyes when he wanted them to travel over picture frames. It was an useless effort of course. He recognised the pictures. It was them. All five of them together. The three of them together. And also a picture Hoseok had taken of just Seokjin and Yoongi of when they’d been on top of the rooftop of the old dorm. It had been their first New Year together. Hoseok had joined the dorm for less than a month back then. Yoongi had smiled brightly for once when he looked at the camera, red faced from alcohol. Seokjin was caught mid-laughing. In the background fireworks were going off. It felt like looking at a picture of extras in a movie. The people in the picture seemed like strangers.

“You two live together here?” Seokjin asked once they were seated on the floor munching noodles at the coffee table in the living room. The apartment was small, but empty enough to not call it cramped. White walls that have not been decorated aside from the pictures and a clock. It looked like a student dorm, it looked like a fresh start.

Hoseok nodded. “I moved to a bad neighbourhood, when we all left the dorm. I knew this, of course. But I didn’t know it could get as bad at night as it did” Hoseok made an effort to look Seokjin in the eye, as if he deemed it necessary. The look you’d give a professor when making your case to get an extra few points on an assignment detrimental for you passing a course. “So, I moved in with Yoongi, about three months ago. It’s a temporary solution.”

Seokjin’s suspicion of the two increased. Sure, they were no longer the young boys who were forgiven to make stupid mistakes, but there was still something very young about the way none of them spoke up about what truly happened. “You two hadn’t been in contact prior to those three months?” Seokjin asked feeling confused. He casted Yoongi a look. Yoongi was busy eating, stuffing his mouth full _there is no way I can answer with my mouthful, you understand?_ Or he was still chagrined from the fact that Seokjin had punched him in the face. Yes, that eye was going to be black and blue.

Hoseok shrugged and gave a quick smile. That was Hoseok. Hoseok had always seemed a little bit awkward when he was paired with both Seokjin and Yoongi. As if he were an intruder in whatever unspoken conversation the two older ones were having. Seokjin felt bad for him on occasions, but not now. Right now, Seokjin’s curiosity was more demanding. “Not really,” Hoseok answered.

“Ah,” Seokjin said, arching an eyebrow. For some unknown reason, he felt a little amused. “Did you two have a fight?”

“We’re not here to discuss our problems,” Yoongi said quickly before Hoseok could talk.

This would have been cute if it wasn’t as serious as Hoseok’s sad expression. “Actually, we are,” Seokjin said.

“You know what I mean,” Yoongi said.

Seokjin shrugged. “Yeah okay, well… The settlement. That’s all you want to talk about, right?”

This time Yoongi hesitated. He didn’t say “yes” as direct as he’d been answering Seokjin’s questions. “I- Yes… I just… I’m not going to lie; I didn’t expect to find you in the state that you’re currently in.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not with them, right? Your soulmates. I thought you would be.”

Seokjin’s chest felt tight. He balled up his fist and tried really hard not to lose focus. He should say nothing. He was not a smart person. He made stupid decisions when he felt emotional. He could later look at his Reddit replies and see how he’s supposed to feel. He should not say anything or let out anything. He shouldn’t have punched Yoongi. “Why?” Seokjin croaked out.

Yoongi’s eyes got slightly bigger he shot Hoseok a look. Hoseok was frowning. “I’m being a hypocrite,” Yoongi said, “an even bigger one, I know. I should not ask you about things you do not want to talk about, just as I just requested you.” See, Seokjin was stupid. Even Yoongi understood that certain things should not be talked about. Seokjin swallowed his craziness back inside and went about it as rational as possible.

“You remember when Jungkook got in trouble for breaking that one guy’s phone,” Seokjin said suddenly. Jungkook had been a teenager in the same way media liked to portray teenagers. Loud, rowdy and angry at the world. One day he got himself in trouble, and came home with a big fat bill that he could in no way pay for himself. Seokjin and Yoongi had looked at each other and understood that a new challenge was ahead of them. “We followed a routine and collected more money in three weeks than we did in one month.”

Hoseok nodded. “”Yeah, I remember that,” he said seemingly glad they were getting on topic. “But you never really told me how you did it,” Hoseok went on, “All you told me was to not worry Taehyung and Jungkook.”

Yoongi remained silent. He had a small smile on his face, reminiscing.

“Yeah, well you were too young,” Seokjin said lightly, “It wasn’t the healthiest tactic, but it worked.”

Hoseok frowned, “I thought you just counted our expenses more closely.”

Yoongi nodded. “Yes, that’s true. We also skipped meals.” He looked up at Seokjin, “You suggest we do that again?”

Seokjin shrugged. “Depends on how desperate you are.”

“We don’t have that much time,” Yoongi said. His deliverance was remarkable in that he didn’t sound like a know-it-all. He sounded like he really did not know what to do. He sounded lost, and he looked at Seokjin for help.

“It’s a settlement, right? You can always borrow some time,” Seokjin said reassuringly.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Seokjin affirmed.

“Okay,” Yoongi said quietly and then looked at Hoseok, “we need to write up a plan.”

Hoseok nodded.

Seokjin could only watch. He was not their parent. He could walk away from them and leave them to figure it out on their own. But they looked at him as if he were their parent, no? The way Yoongi was mean was much that of an angry kid. But they were no kids anymore, and Seokjin feeling lenient for them felt unfair to himself. The three of them worrying over Taehyung and Jungkook was a setting so familiar to him that it made it easy to forget that he was still hurt.

“You don’t need me here anymore, right?” Seokjin said. They both looked surprised at his statement. Seokjin just smiled politely. “I’ll think about what you asked otherwise of me, but think I’d like to go home now.”

Yoongi drove him back to his bus stop. Seokjin was not ready to let Yoongi know where he lived. He needn’t the judgement right now. He had time to think on his walk back. He could read through his Reddit replies.

### [Responses to Seokjin's Reddit Post - The People of the Internet]

_OP you’re hiding too much information. I think your friends have a good reason to leave you behind. The first thing you do upon meeting them in a year is punch them in the face??? Who does that? You sound like an asshole, because any social human being would have been able to make new friends in an entire year. They must be very desperate to reach out towards you, so the least you can do is help them out. (Sorry if this sounds rude, but I can’t really sugar coat bullshit)._

_the fact that you're asking everyone to be kind is kinda telling. just saying. just know that how they're acting is not normal friend behavior n you would totally be justified in dropping them (whether u help them or not). u don't rly need to be hurting urself to help people who don't seem to give a shit abt u and what u did for them.[_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/270334618) _]_

_The fact that they ignored all your attempts at communicating with them and only called you when they were in trouble really shows how they feel about you. I personally think that you should do what you think is best for you. don't let them choose things for you. A relationship can still be toxic even with people we love and care for. I wish you good luck though!!![_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/270350458) _]_

_You're trying hard to mask your pain, and you're still concerned about them, for they mean the world to you... Objectively, as well as personally, I believe you deserve an honest explanation, first of all. Them just cutting you out of their lives, was not something you deserve, at all. And then, I think you should distance yourself from them; Don’t forget to take care of yourself, you come first here... <3 [_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/270385114) _]_

### [The Same Corner of the Story]

Seokjin’s hands were trembling by the time he got home. It was cold of course. His coat was not suited for the October weather and he had no gloves. Despite his trembling hands did he manage to not drop his phone. His eyes were glued to his phone as he walked the stairs at the back of the gas station to his front door. The Reddit replies all centred around a concept that felt too jarring; Seokjin should prioritize himself. They said he had a right to feel angry. He had a right to want to drop them like they did him.

But deep down that was not what Seokjin wanted. This was also clear to the people of the internet, but they rebutted this with well-articulated arguments. They sounded rational, while Seokjin sounded so stupid and idiotic in the post. Seokjin also wanted to go about this as rational as possible.

He really did, which made it hard for him to understand how the majority of people did not end up hating him in the Reddit replies. On the contrary, it were his brothers that were being called rude and other names. Yes, Seokjin would agree, they were rude; but also, no, these brothers are still younger than him and Seokjin feeling hurt was his own pathetic mind demanding more attention. Also strangely enough, none of the replies tried to rationalise how one year could fly by with no intention. None of them used the excuses that Seokjin would; thinking that people are busy, people have lives, or that his own life at the corner store was too empty to even understand how busy people can be. 

The people of the internet were placing him in the centre of the situation, demanding him to do things only if he would feel good about them. One of them even compared his relationship with his brothers to something toxic. To which Seokjin could only frown deeper. His brothers didn’t hit him, he didn’t cry over the situation (not anymore at least), and the members were not giving him anything really to even call it toxic. Seokjin was certainly the only one making the situation a problem. He was the one caught up in feelings and emotions. He was the one who felt the need to make a stupid Reddit post.

It could be, like the most deviating reply stated, that Seokjin was feeling too good about himself, and that he simply was an asshole.

Seokjin grimaced at his own train of thoughts. Wasn’t it funny? The power of one negative comment overshadowing the kindly worded ones. He tried to control his own thinking, but his feelings… He still hated himself so much. If his brothers truly must see him as their last resort, why would he make it hard on them? The way Yoongi and Hoseok had talked, showed that they were a little lost. But also that they had their own personal problems. In Seokjin’s mind everyone had been friends with each other in this one year of solitude. In his mind everything was okay on the other end of the city, but having witnessed Hoseok and Yoongi from up close challenged that.

Like the people of the internet Seokjin did also not necessarily know what was going on. There was a chance that the people of the internet thought that he manipulated the situation with the vague way he described it all. But there was truth in this too. Seokjin did also not know what was going on in its entirety. He did not understand why he had to feel like shit, why it took his brothers this long to reach out. He did not understand why Jungkook alluded to him not wanting to meet up. Or why Yoongi offered so willingly to be punched in the face. But when Seokjin had wanted to talk about his personal problems with Hoseok Yoongi had shut down.

Seokjin had questions, and it seemed like his brothers were not that willing to share the answers easily. Maybe he should have spoken up when he was at Yoongi’s. Or, on the other hand, taking a step back made it seem like his brothers were not the only one who had answers. There were also his soulmates.

With that in mind the first thing Seokjin did when he got home was sit on his chair and breath steadily. He wanted to smoke but didn’t want the room to smell. (Sometimes he did. He would chain-smoke and make it all foggy in the room. It would be so distasteful he’d cough. This is how bad Seokjin’s apartment was. There were no air monitors to alert any fire. It was liberating and scary. If he wanted, he could burn it all down and no one would know until it was too late.) No, Seokjin wanted to write Namjoon a text message. Simply to ask for a conversation and see what answers he could get.

This thought alone was hyperbolic with how far it strayed from the Seokjin of this morning. Seokjin was not sure what he would do if he got the chance to meet Namjoon. Seokjin was also more inclined to believe that Namjoon would be angry. But reaching out to Namjoon instead of Jimin felt like the right and polite thing to do. Namjoon was nonetheless older, the head of their bond and also very protective over Jimin. Seokjin remembered that much. In last year’s few exchanges, Seokjin had gotten just enough of a glimpse of things he should not dare to wish for. But he had understood very clearly why him in the equation would result in a disaster. Sure it took him a bit too long to understand this, it took the crying face of Jimin and Namjoon’s yelling for Seokjin to really understand that he is a complete dumbass, but at least he got out of their hairs.

So why jump back into it now?

It was not a crime, was it, to send a text? Maybe Yoongi thought the same when he called Seokjin. Maybe Seokjin should also offer Namjoon to punch him in the face if they were to meet. The people of the internet would not call him weak for it, would they?

If only, that is.

Seokjin looked at the message concept he’s had for a long time now. Taehyung was not the only reason why Seokjin had been contemplating reaching out to Namjoon, nonetheless. Yoongi’s strange behaviour was not the only cause for Seokjin to sit here reading over his text. When Seokjin had been drunk, or lonely and sometimes high, he would scroll down to Namjoon’s number and write texts but never send them. But now for the first time, it felt like Seokjin missed some crucial piece to a puzzle. Heck, he hadn’t even known it was a puzzle to begin with. If not kindness, Seokjin was seeking answers that would elucidate his quiet life above the gas station.

So Seokjin sent Namjoon a text message that same night, politely asking whether they could drink some tea.

Namjoon texted Seokjin back within the same fifteen minutes. Namjoon asked whether they could meet the next day around lunch time.

Seokjin replied within five minutes and confirmed the time.

Namjoon asked for a location where his manager Bang Dowon would pick Seokjin up.

Seokjin gave up his bus stop.

Namjoon accepted this and ended the conversation.

Seokjin was left struck. He could not move for a good few minutes. He stared at his phone and the messages on the screen. Namjoon had replied back. Namjoon wanted to meet up without really asking any questions. Namjoon’s messages were short, straight to the point, maybe even angry sounding, but they were a response nonetheless. Something in Seokjin had expected his message to remain unreplied. Seokjin was stupidly surprised to see someone immediately react to the signals he sent out. Perhaps, a soulmate quality. The boring lessons in primary school about the exceptional behaviour patterns in favour of soulmates started resurfacing in his mind. Seokjin had never really liked those courses, it made him cringe, frown and distrustful. He could never imagine something as strong as bonds. Never. And now this. Seokjin was vulnerable, easy to sway in any direction that would offer him attention, but he could pretend to forget that; it was easy to forget when looking at the message Namjoon had sent to him. Namjoon cared enough to spare him some time.

The next day, Seokjin had given in and asked his boss for a quick drag of their cigarette butt before walking the three miles to his bus stop. Right now he regretted that. He had no mint to cover up the smell and the drag did nothing to ease out the nerves. On top of that, his boss started side-eying Seokjin as he once again demanded to skip work. Seokjin waited exactly three minutes at the bus stop, as he had been three minutes early. He glanced at the time on his phone and saw that the black car driving up the street was on time. There was no doubt that this car was meant for him. It still made him nervous when it pulled up in front of him at the stop. A driver stepped out, and looked Seokjin over. The man was not wearing sunglasses and a suite like you’d expect in the movies. He looked like a manager. Well-kept in designer clothing that looked cheap at first glance.

“Kim Seokjin?” The man asked, Seokjin nodded. “My name is Bang Dowon, I work for the Kim’s.” He extended his hand politely and Seokjin accepted it. Dowon, like many people, referred to Namjoon and Jimin as the Kim’s. They are married nonetheless. Seokjin could not avoid this fact even if he’d wanted to. The Kim’s are much talked about.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Seokjin said politely. “I have an appointment with Namjoon. He said you would come and pick me up.”

Dowon nodded, and could have been wearing sunglasses, because Seokjin could absolutely not read his expression. “Step in the car and I’ll take you there.”

During the drive no one spoke and Seokjin did his best to not sit wrongly as if it were possible. Dowon was in the front, Seokjin sat in the back. The car felt too expensive to breath in to begin with. He got almost too distracted by how sleek and stylish the car looked that he missed how far into the shopping district they were driving. He hadn’t been in the city centre for a while. As the car drove to more luxurious streets with big office buildings and recording and entertainment companies splashing their names on their skyscape faces, Seokjin felt a little sick with nervousness. Seokjin also felt a bit like a tourist. Namjoon liked to drink in small cafés in hidden places that no one really knew, was what Seokjin remembered. Seokjin had expected them to meet in such a place, but this was also fine. He was in no position to make requests. Seokjin should be glad Namjoon got him a car and time to spare. Namjoon was of course very busy. Maybe his appointment with Seokjin was squeezed in between big meeting of some sorts. Seokjin couldn’t help but feel reassured that Namjoon made time for him nonetheless.

Dowon led Seokjin inside a huge entertainment office. Men and women in varying clothing antics from casual to fashion statements to formal office wear swarmed around them in the entrance hall. Seokjin had a hard time trying not to feel jittery or self-conscious about his own clothing. Dowon looked over his shoulders to make sure Seokjin was following him and kept a steady step. Dowon walked them to an open cafeteria on the ground floor. It was busy right now as it was lunch time, which explained the swamping entrance hall. Seokjin couldn’t help but look around, wondering whether he could spot Namjoon somewhere at one of the tables as they threaded the cafeteria. But Dowon didn’t stop at one of the tables. He walked over to a door in the back that led to a hallway of doors. Of course, private eating rooms.

Dowon took the first door on their right and opened it up for Seokjin. “You can wait here,” Dowon said. Seokjin peaked inside. The room was light and had padded chairs. A tea jar and mugs were on the centre of the table. The room was small and could only fit four people. Despite being light there were no windows. “It won’t take long,” Dowon explained. “I’ll be waiting just outside the hallway if you need anything in the meantime.” Seokjin nodded as he walked inside the room.

“Thank you, Dowon. Thank you for bringing me here,” Seokjin said gratefully. He knew that this was Dowon’s job, but Dowon was being kind, and Seokjin had been afraid that that would not be the case with people affiliated with Namjoon and Jimin.

“No problem,” with that Dowon left him there alone.

Seokjin took place at one of the chairs in a way that allowed him to watch the door. He placed his hands on the table, looked over at the tea utilities and wondered whether it would be a good idea to pour some in, or to organise it like this so that they could immediately drink it. He pulled his hands back on his lap, and shook his head. Doing nothing would be better. Staying quiet would be best for now. He should not try to create any situation that would give Namjoon more ground to be mad at him. He should start with an apology and then an offer to be punched in the face. He should-

The door opened up. A petite figure in black entered the room, and closed the door. She pulled her hair back behind her ear, and took place across from Seokjin.

Seokjin curled up his hand into fists and looked down. His heart started beating more rapidly and he was sure she heard it too. His ears started to heat up and Seokjin honestly felt like throwing up.

Lee Suhee didn’t say a word. Seokjin could feel her looking at him.

“I…,” Seokjin started, he felt prompted. He should start this conversation, right? “I’m so sorry to be bothering your team,” Seokjin settled for.

“Dowon told me that you really believed Namjoon would show up. But to see it for myself just makes me wonder how delusional your appeal was going to be,” Suhee said calmly.

Seokjin is an idiot. Seokjin is the biggest idiot to have ever walked on the face of earth. There was no way he deserved to be loved with this amount of stupidity running his mind.

Seokjin shook his head. “I don’t… I wasn’t going to appeal to Namjoon or Jimin like that. I just wanted to-”

“-you just wanted some tea, right?” Suhee sounded almost friendly, more leaning towards disparaging. “What made you think I would not protect my artists from someone like you?”

Shaking his head Seokjin apologised. “I don’t think that.”

“Hm,” Suhee said musing, “You think you’re important?”

“I… no,” Seokjin admitted, “I know I’m not important.”

“But you did sent a text message,” Suhee mused.

“I did, but it wasn’t for anything… bad. I just wanted to…,” Seokjin felt suddenly so empty. He had no words to fill up his room to speak. He felt so incapable to hold his own ground and he was too focussed on wishing to disappear. “Please, don’t misunderstand,” Seokjin settled for.

“I think I understand very clearly,” Suhee said for the first time sounding actually angry. Seokjin hated this so much. He hated how small he felt. “Look at me,” Suhee commanded. It became silent. She was waiting for Seokjin to comply. It took a moment for Seokjin to gather courage to do so. As he looked her in the eye he wondered what she saw in his. Could she see that his eyes started to stung? Her eyes were dark and looked so fiery that it seemed unfamiliar. Seokjin hadn’t seen this much passion in someone’s eyes in a long time. At least not directed towards him. The young woman hated him so much, he was almost convinced that she hated him more than he did so himself. “I’m still cleaning up the mess you left behind,” Suhee said, “People like you are not supposed to exist, you know this. Three people sharing a bond does not work, so don’t even try to make a case for that. Deep down you know this is true. That’s why you’re here. You wanted tea? No. You want money, that’s all you ever wanted from the Kim’s. That’s all you’ll ever be.”

“Suhee,” Seokjin said quietly, “that’s not true. Please understand, I really just wanted to talk to him. I’m trying to understand why we-”

“-you’re not fucking listening, are you?” Suhee interrupted angrily. “How stupid can you be?”

“I…I’m not…” Seokjin hesitated speaking up. Rebutting that felt like lying. “Sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just, I’m going through some things right now and I thought-”

“-so you want to trouble the Kim’s with your problems?”

Seokjin shook his head immediately. “No, no. That’s not it. I just thought they could help me with-”

“-with money, right?”

“-no, well- No, I really mean no,” Seokjin fumbled over his words. Right now sharing the whole truth would not work. Sharing that he didn’t even know what he was doing was not the way to go about it. Right now messing up all his chances at ever meeting his soulmates again was all he was good for. “I don’t need anything like that,” Seokjin said quickly before she would stop caring. “It’s just… I know I should not exist. I know this. As soon as I saw that I had two soulmates at the register I knew it was a mistake, and that I should leave them alone. But when we finally met… it’s not a mistake. They are my soulmates. I know this and I won’t impose. I thought I could ask to… talk to them… that’s all. I won’t ask for more. I promise. I just wanted to talk to them.”

Suhee is quiet for a moment. She looked disgusted and Seokjin wanted to apologise for even that. “I’m not convinced, Seokjin,” Suhee said sounding bored. She eyed him critically. “Look at yourself. A face like yours could have gotten you enough to not become a beggar.”

Seokjin sighted and felt his throat cloak up. He was not prepared for this. “Please don’t say that.”

“Someone needs to,” Suhee responded. “Do you still want some tea?”

Seokjin was lost. How did he end up here? What did _tea_ even mean in this context at this point? “I…”

“And so polite…” Suhee muttered. She reached for something in her coat and placed in on the table. It was an envelope. “Here,” she pushed it over to him. “Take this and leave the Kim’s alone.”

Seokjin shook his head for the _n_ -th time. “I don’t want their money.”

“But you need it anyways,” Suhee said. “Maybe not now, maybe you’ll blow it all on drugs within one week. But one day, at some point, somehow the Kim’s would be your last resort and that’s when you’ll need this. I’m thinking ahead. Take it, or I’ll start making this a problem.”

That was a clear threat.

Suhee got up and dug in her pockets. She took some change out and put it on the table. Seokjin followed her movements with a slight frown on his face, unsure how he should feel. “There is a bus stop her, Dowon looked it up,” Suhee said. She pointed at the coins. “This should be enough to get you back home.” With that she left the room.

Seokjin wrote a new Reddit post on the way back and managed to not cry. When he got on his bus he hit _post_. The envelope was burning in the pockets of his thin coat. Someone could steal it from him. Someone should steal it from him. Let a mugger steal from a beggar like him.

Seokjin stepped out of the bus. As soon as the doors closed and the bus hissed as it took off, Seokjin wished it could have taken him with him. Seokjin thought for a split second that Namjoon’s face on the billboard was moving. No, that was not it. Namjoon was actually sitting there. He had his shoulders hunched and was probably cold in his suite. He was scanning the people getting of the bus. He was waiting for someone. Seokjin took a step back on instinct. Namjoon’s eyes locked with his. That was it. Seokjin wanted to turn around and run away.

Namjoon stood up within the same instance. His mouth opened, he eyes became huge and he raised his hands towards his slightly unkept hair. Was he going to yell like this? Like a crazy person who just saw a ghost? Seokjin was going to listen. He could only run away from these confrontations in his dreams. Here now in the real world, Seokjin experienced the effects of witnessing his soulmate from up close.

“Seokjin,” Namjoon whispered, so careful instead of the feared yelling. He pulled his hands into fists and now Seokjin understood; Namjoon was refraining himself. Everything from Namjoon’s body language screamed that he wanted to go over to Seokjin. Or that simply he _wanted_ Seokjin, in the most primal way of the word. It was clear from the now hooded look in Namjoon’s eyes and his tense shoulders.

And Seokjin had never felt this afraid in a long time. Because he too could feel an intense pull making him actually step towards Namjoon. Namjoon lowered his hands, eyes tracking every movement Seokjin made. His eyes went from surprise to disbelief to hooded to worried in cadences. As Seokjin got closer Namjoon had the corners of his lips tugging downwards. “Seokjin,” Namjoon cracked out a second time. A tear fell down his cheek and Seokjin was there to wipe it away. His skin was cold. Seokjin touching him was the last drop. Namjoon no longer held back and enveloped Seokjin in his arms. Seokjin returned the embrace. _Don’t think about anything. Don’t think about anything. Don’t feel anything, it is not here to stay. Don’t-_

It was breath taking. It felt electric. It was shocking. God, Seokjin had forgotten. He hadn’t even known that he had forgotten. He had forgotten how it felt to be loved like this - as much as this. It felt good. It had been so long since he had felt something good that could make the hurt stop. He tightened his grip around Namjoon’s shoulders and refrained himself from shaking. The tears in his eyes had been unavoidable. “Please, hold me tight,” Seokjin whispered. “I’m sorry for asking this, but please hold me tight, Namjoon.”

Namjoon did.

### [Seokjin’s Reddit Post: “I messed up”]

Hello strangers on the internet. This is a follow up on my last post. I think I should apologize. I wasn’t clear in my description. I try not to share too much because I don’t want to out myself, but thinking like that is very stupid of me, this is the internet nonetheless. Sorry for this. Also I know I can come off as an asshole but I try not to be. Really. So sorry for taking your time like this. Haha, my posts are a bit pathetic.

My friends have been acting strange so I thought I should have at least a meal with them. We talked and it seemed like they have their own problems. I assumed everyone was friends while they left me behind, but now I’m not so sure about this anymore. Furthermore, I tried to reach out to my soulmates. I Thought they might know something, but that didn’t go well. So I will just leave them alone. I don’t think I should leave my brothers alone, though. I don’t think they hate me, and also… the thing that my brothers needed from me was money (don’t hate them for this, it was not really their fault). And when I tried reaching out to my soulmates their middleman told me to go away and handed me some money. It’s enough to help out my brothers. Should I give it to my brothers? Or should I keep it to myself? Because I don’t think I can get in contact with my soulmates to give it back.

But you really don’t need to respond to this. I know I sound stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! Share in the comments your thoughts.  
> It took a while with uploading this second part as I did not expect the amount of support, so sorry but also thank you all!
> 
> And as stated before: see if you can respond to Seokjin’s Reddit post I will be picking responses for in the next chapter. The formatting in the comments for this is as follows: [TO REDDIT OP: {insert your response}]  
> I hope we can go on a fun journey together and that those reading this have a good day.


	3. Hello Strangers, Thanks a lot!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All there is left to say is sorry. Things got hectic and demanded my attention. I thank you all for even reading this note. 
> 
> Please read the tags and enjoy it as much as you can.

###  [The Same Corner of the Story]

“I've been reading a lot lately. I want to understand myself and my experiences in life better because I have a lot of questions on why we went wrong and why my heart aches like it does. I want to understand how people can move on and smile bright without the help of photoshop. I want to understand why I have been feeling like a fool, in front of both you and Jimin. You have not seen this side of me of course, but it is how I feel. And by reading a lot I found this; all the great philosophers have fancy words to downplay my experience of life. They tell me that bonds are suggestions, and that nature can be mended in such a way so that my survival will not be endangered. Then they move on to contradict this by stating that bonds go beyond the logical rhythm of science, and that if I really wanted and concentrated, I could communicate with my soulmates on a level that surpasses physical interaction. This, too, they say is for the sake of my own survival. The registration system that we use to find our soulmates is also for survival. Dating apps, should be banished they say. One of them even surprised me; a contemporary philosopher used me and Jimin as an example for the summit of the power of bonds. He said that we emit something so strong that we gain unquestionable recognition from the public. I went to meet that philosopher. I had Suhee arrange us a meeting and I went crazy on that poor man. I asked him all of my questions. I pointed at my chest so that he could understand where it hurt. I asked him: ‘what is this life I'm living then? What is this feeling of pain that demotivates me to do anything with a sincere heart? Whose survival is being taken into account now?’ As the meeting drew to an end, he left the room and all of the respect he had for me in it. He could not answer my questions, because he’s not part of it. Of our bond. Jimin and I can do nothing if you believe we’ll move on without you.”

It became silent. The inside of the car had changed into the same dark blue colour as the river that highlighted the city of dreamers. Parked under a bridge, outlook on the few determined healthy people that jogged on by in the cold October evening, Seokjin sucked in a breath as Namjoon had finished talking. It was warm in the car, so much so that the contrast of the cold outside and warm inside air made the glasses look foggy. Seokjin could draw on them and write out  _ WTF _ . 

“You’re silent,” Namjoon said and squeezed Seokjin’s hand. They hadn’t let go of each other’s hands since they left the bus stop. Namjoon had urgently asked Seokjin to come with him so that they could talk. Seokjin had hesitated, not knowing whether he wanted to go to somewhere public, or even private with Namjoon. But then Namjoon told him they’d go for a drive and stop by the river. So Seokjin had said yes. “I know this is not ideal,” Namjoon went on. “That number you contacted is not mine anymore. Well it is, it’s just that I don’t use a phone anymore, and this is only recently. Another one of the tips I’ve been reading up on. My managers manage my phone and email now. But Dowon gave me an alert. He let me know I could find you at the bus stop. I was afraid I’d miss you.”

Seokjin looked away from the river to their linked hands. “So, it was bad luck,” Seokjin said quietly. “Had I sent you a message earlier, a month ago or something, I would have been meeting you instead of Suhee.”

Namjoon squeezed his hand again. “Yes, yes- it was bad luck. Please understand. Did she say anything?”

Seokjin felt himself getting hot. It was the warm air of course, it weren’t his feelings piling up with confusion coating all of them. It wasn’t like when he first talked to Yoongi outside the hospital. Seokjin was not going to punch Namjoon in the face. Seokjin was not going to be recklessly angry anymore. He had to be logical and sensible about things. He still had to read the Reddit replies. 

“Suhee...,” Seokjin looked at their hands. She wouldn’t like this. “She cares a lot, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, sometimes to a fault,” Namjoon agreed.

Seokjin understood at least something now. “Does she like me?” Seokjin asked and looked up at Namjoon. Namjoon seemed confused but also wary. Yes, this was a strange question to pose. But in all honesty, them holding hands was also strange.

“Does she like you?” Namjoon repeated. “I... She’s conservative, but...,” Namjoon sighted, and then pursed his lips. He looked younger suddenly. He was younger than Seokjin, but only by a few years. Normally it wouldn’t be so apparent, but now it was. “No,” Namjoon quietly admitted. “She doesn’t like you. She doesn’t like that I want you, that I lov-“

“-don’t say that,” Seokjin briskly interrupted.

“Fine.” Namjoon huffed. “She doesn’t like that I like you. She only really likes Jimin.”

Seokjin took that in. “So, Jimin doesn’t want me?”

Namjoon shook his head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just that Jimin- after everything that happened, he became... sad.”

Seokjin glanced away. Namjoon was so willing to share everything so fast and open. Did Namjoon think they’d get back together by acting like this? “And you?”

“I, well I’m also sad. But I project it differently than Jimin. Suhee calls me difficult. Fair. I know I’m a handful. Jimin gets sad, in a way that causes no... chaos or...”

“With chaos you mean meetings with contemporary philosophers that end in screaming matches?”

Namjoon chuckled. “What about you?” Namjoon squeezed his hand again.  _ I’m here, we’re together. _ “Why did you want to go for tea? What did you want to ask me?”

Seokjin sucked in a breath. “If I say, I’ll ruin everything.” Even admitting that seemed to wrong. Seokjin realised that he just wanted to stay here; a moment that had not defined what action he ought to take. A moment in which he could not hate anyone, if he didn’t count himself. Right now, nothing seemed to matter, time wouldn’t be able to reach them if they didn’t continue talking. Seokjin could slip away. But he should walk out of this. He could stay a little, enjoy Namjoon’s hold, but he’d have to walk out of here. A place as peaceful as this, was bound to be a trap.

It became silent again, and Seokjin leaned towards the door, his hand losing grip in Namjoon’s. But the younger was desperate. That’s why he was so honest maybe. 

“Seokjin, please,” Namjoon said holding Seokjin's hand more firmly. “Please, just look at me.” Namjoon was begging now. His other hand tentatively touched Seokjin’s shoulder, and Seokjin was reminded of their embrace again. God that had been wonderful. “You don’t have to say anything. The serious stuff can come afterwards. We can live in this small moment for now. Come with me and we can see Jimin and just be together for a while. Just come see us, and pause time. We will clear our schedules. I won’t tell Suhee if you don’t want that. We can do whatever you like. We can just be together and... stop being sad.”

Seokjin could only frown, looking at the picture near the television installation. In the grandiose house, with art pieces in a black and white interior, that picture seemed a little out of place. It wasn’t of high definition, or aesthetically candid. It was a bit awkward, a little too human for a household that held national superstars. Seokjin would have put more effort in the first selfie he’d sent Namjoon and Jimin had he known they’d put it up in their living room. Seokjin wondered how they explained to visitors who the person on that picture was. How many people actually knew of Seokjin’s relation to Namjoon and Jimin? Was the secrecy one of the reasons why Namjoon agreed to tell no one – not Suhee – that Seokjin was currently sitting in their lounge area?

“-why did you not text me earlier?” Jimin’s loud whisper from the kitchen resounded in the lounge area. Seokjin was kindly awaiting his two soulmates to make him some tea. “How did you get him here?”

“-I don’t know,” Namjoon hissed back, and carried the same level of contained excitement. “Dowon let me know about a message Seokjin sent me and…”

“…why did he not reach out to me? Why not in our chat?”

“I don’t know, but we…” the last of Namjoon’s bits inaudible. 

“… that. Why can’t we ask Suhee whether we should-”

“-no!” Namjoon said loudly and Seokjin would laugh – with honest humour in his heart – if he was not curious about what they were saying. Namjoon’s loud exclamation made them quiet down a bit more. After a while they went back to their not so well working whisper volume. “-that’s why he’s here. No serious talk. Just us together, for once. For this moment. Come on, Jimin. Please don’t-”

“-no, I get it. Don’t worry. Thank you for…”

More clattering in the kitchen and Seokjin understood that their conversation was over. If not, it continued silently with the exchange of looks that he couldn’t see. He sunk back in on the white sofa. It felt expensive like everything else. His shirt was also white, though it was thin, and a little frail, but seemed to suite the ambiance. He refrained from messing his hair bun, and folded his hands. He was nervous, yes. After Suhee he had not expected to see anyone really for that matter. Let alone being in someone else’s living room. 

“Here’s the tea,” Jimin said joyfully, entering the room. The younger had blond hair, wore trainers and had a difficult smile on his face. It was difficult, because he seemed to put a lot of energy into maintaining it. Jimin placed the tray of three cups of a certain special tea on the coffee table and sat down next to Seokjin. Belatedly Seokjin realised that by positioning himself in the middle, he would be crammed between Namjoon and Jimin. But looking at his options – switching now to the other end of the sofa would be highly offensive towards Jimin. Seokjin should not disrespect people in their own house. “Namjoon is getting the cookies,” Jimin explained timidly. His voice sounded dreamy and Seokjin looked away from Jimin’s stare as it became more apparent that Jimin was straight up staring at him.

“Thank you for the tea,” Seokjin said. “Thank you for letting me in.”

Jimin nodded furiously. “Of course. Always.”

Strangely enough, Seokjin had not run headfirst into Jimin like he had with Namjoon. Jimin had stared at the two of them when they’d walked up to the doorstep. For a moment no one had said anything. Then, Jimin had run away inside the house, leaving the door gaping and Namjoon apologising –  _ don’t mind him _ .  _ He’s just surprised. Come in, come in _ . But Jimin seemed to have collected himself, and it suited the older looking body he carried himself in. He’s definitely been working out. His biceps strain his body fitted black shirt, and the angles of his face were more defined. Jimin, in this state- openly staring at Seokjin as if he were a ghost - was a slightly intimidating experience. It was different from Namjoon, because Jimin had always felt a bit more unapproachable. 

“Can I hold your hand?” Jimin asked. 

Without thinking Seokjin opened his folded hands and offered one to Jimin. Fingers entwined, and their grip was firm. Seokjin let go of a breath he had been all too aware he’d been holding in. Did Jimin want him? _ Yes, he asked to hold your hand. Don’t be stupid. You’ve lost weight nonetheless. You’re still pretty enough for them to look at.  _

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Jimin said quietly. His voice sounded closer than before, and one look over Seokjin’s shoulder confirmed that Jimin was indeed closer. 

“I…” Seokjin wondered what was wrong with him. Why couldn’t he talk like he did before with Namjoon? “I understand that you may have a lot of questions as to why-”

“-Namjoon told me that that isn’t why you came here,” Jimin kindly interrupted. “You came here because you want to be happy together, with us, even if it’s just for a little bit. Right?”

Seokjin bit his tongue, as he caught himself wanting to say yes so easily. “That’s not why I initially reached out to Namjoon, though. I eh…”

“But you agreed to come with Namjoon because you too don’t want to think about heavy things when we can finally be together after such a long time… correct?”

Jimin was way closer now. His hold on Seokjin’s hand almost painfully tight. Seokjin’s chest felt equally tight. They were so close in a way that Seokjin hadn’t been when he embraced Namjoon. That embrace had been relief, impulse, exhaustion, and warmth. But now, everything with Jimin was so intense; so hot. Every bone in Seokjin’s body screamed so loudly for something that it became intangible and too confusing for Seokjin to understand more than one simple truth; he wanted Jimin.

“Yeah,” Seokjin breathed, and turned slightly towards Jimin’s direction. 

“You want us?” Jimin asked.

“Yes,” Seokjin answered and felt something well up. “I want to… I just want to stop hurting.”

Jimin kissed his own teeth and looked pitiful. “You will,” it was almost inaudible. Maybe Jimin only moved his lips, and made no sound. Maybe this moment starkly portrayed that Seokjin was no professional – he had no years in training of suppressing a bond and not chasing after his desires this close to his soulmate. Seokjin couldn’t help it; he kissed Jimin. 

Jimin kissed him back. He pushed himself closer to Seokjin, and forced their mouths open. It was hot, and felt electric as Jimin traced his hands over Seokjin’s shoulder, back, and then lower back. His grip was firm, it almost felt serious; a task that had to be done with the right amount of gravitas. A kiss that had to be devoured and relished to its fullest potential. And Seokjin let it all wash over him. He opened up to Jimin, let Jimin taste him, made Jimin chase after him. Seokjin bit Jimin’s lip and made Jimin moan.

A dip on the sofa behind Seokjin. Seokjin almost lost balance, but strong hands kept him in place. Gentle arms embraced him from behind, supporting both Seokjin and Jimin. Namjoon breathed in Seokjin’s neck. “We’re so happy you’re here,” he whispered, and then placed a kiss on Seokjin’s collarbone. 

They were all so close to each other. They were all touching each other. It felt like they were shining, they were golden. They must be elevating? 

Seokjin and Jimin stopped making out and breathed for air. Jimin’s eyes were hooded, and Seokjin supposed Namjoon’s were too. The married couple kissed each other over Seokjin’s shoulder, and it felt right for Seokjin to now dip and place small kisses on Jimin’s neck. Namjoon held on tighter, now also reaching for Jimin, and it was right here where Seokjin wanted to be; between Namjoon and Jimin. Surrounded by…

It was getting hotter. They were getting harder and it was this pressing matter, that grounded Seokjin. It made him pull away a bit. The others noticed. They stopped moving, pulled back, and suddenly they were just there. Three soulmates, and three cups of tea, not knowing what their purpose was.

“Fuck,” Seokjin muttered and buried his face, for a lack of better place to hide, in Jimin’s shoulders. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Seokjin mumbled low and inaudible, “I hate myself. I hate myself…”

“I know,” Namjoon said from behind him, patting his back. “We shouldn’t do this, right?”

Why did they keep asking him questions? Why couldn’t they just shove him off the sofa, and make him pay for being an idiot. 

“I’m sorry,” Seokjin said. “This isn’t what I…” As Suhee had predicted,  _ was this his only appeal to them? _

“Don’t apologise,” Jimin said with a quiet voice. His hands snaked around Seokjin’s neck and he made the older look him in the eye. Like this, their faces were pressed close to each other. It felt very hot, and Seokjin knew he had to take a step back. His rational thoughts ceased to be muffled by his grand desire. If it weren’t for Jimin’s eyes, his hands on his neck, or Namjoon’s warm body pressing behind Seokjin, he would be looking for exits. “I’m sorry I came on strong onto you. It’s just with Namjoon I’m used to repressing my desire, with you I’m still… a little reckless. I’m sorry,” Jimin looked over Seokjin shoulder and then back, “we’re sorry. We can just sit here and relax.”

Namjoon shifted and suddenly there was more room for Seokjin to move. Jimin let go of him, and Seokjin felt a little pathetic with the way he wanted to chase after them. “Yeah,” Namjoon said as if nothing had happened, “we can just watch some tv, order in and then pass out.”

Seokjin took a moment to process how considerate the conversation sounded. It took him another moment to understand that they didn’t want him gone or just for sex. And then finally a third moment to finalise a response. “Yes, please,” Seokjin said. “that would be lovely.”

They ordered Thai food and it was delivered on plates, rather than in white plastic bags. Jimin operated the television and looked for some blankets. The way the two moved around each other was a testament to their marriage. They knew each other very well. With little to no conversation they rearranged themselves. The three cups of tea were taken back to the kitchen with no one having sipped a bit out of them. Seokjin had offered to help, but both Namjoon and Jimin refused profoundly, telling him to make himself comfortable. So Seokjin, ever so quietly, shifted to one side of the couch, away from the centre. Once they were all seated, food bowls in hand, tucked in with blankets and an old television program from the mid-2000s on, Seokjin sneaked in a couple of glances. Namjoon was sitting in the middle. He was the first done eating, saying he was on a diet and didn’t want to eat too much. He was left putting a tender hand on Jimin’s thigh and leaving his other side open for Seokjin to aggravate to. 

It was becoming rude, but Seokjin couldn’t stop staring at them, even after finishing dinner. He couldn’t stop looking at the life he had imagined in his head countless times. This was what he saw; Namjoon and Jimin enjoying their evening without a care in a world – smiles hinging on their lips, and their eyes tired, but content. The difference with his bubble of a vision and the reality of things was that both boys were older. They were men now. They had no naivety in their attitude. They were smart and practical. They worked together seamlessly once they both understood that their priority was to keep Seokjin in the house as long as possible. They felt older than Seokjin in that way. As if Seokjin was still stuck in the old days and ideas of how everyone would react. For one, Jimin was not crying. Namjoon did not come off as protective as Seokjin had expected (Namjoon letting Seokjin and Jimin make out for that long before stepping in was not coincidental). In the quiet of the evening, the occasional comment mostly coming from Namjoon, Seokjin silently wondered what other things he’d been wrong about. 

Seokjin fell asleep on the sofa. He knew it was happening, but he didn’t fight it. Thinking of going back to his own place felt saddening. The only pull was the thought of smoking one. But like Namjoon said, he wanted to stay in this moment were nothing serious was going on. It was warm here, his soulmates were here, and if he tried hard enough he could pretend that his life was here; that he belonged somewhere and that all he could feel was warmth, even if it couldn’t reach his heart. 

###  [Responses to Seokjin’s Reddit Post – The People of the internet]

_ It seems like some communication is in order. Have you ever told any of them how you feel? Have you told them, from your perspective, what happened and how you are now? It seems like you haven't. It sounds like bad communication on both sides. As to your soulmates (Two? Cool!!! I'm a romantic at heart), talk to them, too.[ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272628448) _ ]. _

_ Don't degrade yourself like that bro. We all wrote reddit post for something and that's fine. ummm, I think you should give the money to your friends anyway? Since you said you don't think you can give it to back to their middleman, why not just use it? [ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272628622) _ ] _

_ the fact that ur friends had their own problems doesnt rly change the fact they ditched u or make it less rude. even if ur friends need help pls think of urself first. i think if u decide to give it to them i would ask for an explanation for their behavior to u first. pls stay well, op! [ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272638639) _ ] _

_ Wanting advice from people who are not personally involved with the situation is perfectly valid and helpful! Aout the money, if you can't really give them back to your soulmates, it would be better to spend them on something that is worthwhile to you and that seems to be your brothers. Do whatever you feel is right but don't make it easy for them. Good luck once again! [ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272694157) _ ] _

_ Regardless of whether your friends having issues in their lives, it was wrong of them to completely cut you out. diving back headfirst is never a good idea. But I think you should give the money to them. U should convey your feelings while giving it; if they take it and then again leave, it'll be a clean cut and kinda like a closure..But if they stay, then u could maybe start working on yourselves again.. However, I think u should confirm with your soulmates if it is what they want as well. Best of luck, and take care 💜 [ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272706802) _ ] _

_ You aren't pathetic please don't think of yourself as such. Give the money to your friends if helping your friends is important to you. However there is nothing wrong in keeping the money as well. Also about what the middle man did is disgusting. If you truly want to contact your soulmates again don't allow someone to bully you into giving up. [ _ [ _ ORIGINAL _ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/272740807) _ ] _

###  [The Same Corner of the Story]

Seokjin had a plan.

It was morning and Seokjin woke up in a bedroom he was unfamiliar with. He thought about how strong Namjoon had to be to have carried him all the way there. Then he stopped that train of thought, remembering that it was Jimin who’d been working out. Then again, he had to stop and think of a way of engaging what awaited him outside this simplistic white guest bedroom. His clothes were ruffled, and with his hair tie lost his hair was all over the place. On a chair he found sweatpants, a hoodie and underwear. The room was attached to a bathroom with clean utilities, and absolutely nothing stopped him from leaving the room presentable. Looking at the time on his phone (which had been charging beside his bedside table, accompanied by a glass of water), he understood that he was late for work. He called in sick, and his boss threatened to look for him at his house (his boss was one of the few people who actually knew where he lived beyond the bus stop). Seokjin boldly invited him to. His boss resumed to ignoring Seokjin, and that issue had been casted aside. Then Seokjin opened the group chat with his brothers and was surprised to see some conversation in the chat. Apparently, Taehyung had been released from the hospital, and was now at his and Jungkook’s place. Both Yoongi and Hoseok wished him well, and Seokjin wondered whether the two had a separate group chat with Jungkook to worry about the money problems. Seokjin quickly shoot out his own message wishing Taehyung well. And then… Seokjin went to the Reddit replies.

He read through the responses, and understood that there was one thing he really needed to do. It wasn’t necessarily giving the money to his brothers or back to his soulmates. That wasn’t it. One reply commented on how cool it was for Seokjin to have two soulmates. Initially, that had been his reaction too. Right now, it felt a bit complicated. It also felt a bit complicated with his brothers. Seokjin was still feeling strange, and had, despite a reply telling him not to, dived headfirst in Namjoon’s and Jimin’s arms. He had been too lonely, he supposed, yet, he wanted to go about this as rational as possible. Though, he couldn’t seem to do that accordingly. Him staying over at Namjoon and Jimin was a testament to that. No. Seokjin needed to take a step back, that was what he needed. He’d have to put some distance between these six guys that deepened his frowns. But before that, he ought to follow the one overarching advice from the strangers of the internet: he needed to have talk with all of them, conveying his feelings and letting them know how Seokjin has felt through all of it and what the consequences would be. The money would come up eventually. Hopefully it would encourage his brothers to explain to him what he did wrong for them to leave him like they had. It might help him find a reason to vouch for his brothers. Or it would do the opposite. It could make him feel more hurt, more betrayed and absolutely lost. It could end in a big disaster. 

Seokjin sucked in a breath. “Fuck it,” he muttered. That always seemed to do the trick. Muttering curse words like a mantra, right before he’d go on and say “I hate myself, fuck.” He could feel it in his chest. He hated how he couldn’t think straight; how he needed help in these simple steps he was taking. He hated how pathetic he was, huddled underneath the soft covers like a child and not an adult. He hated how he could feel fear overpowering his desire to elucidate his anger. With his hatred came so much anger and he had no right to direct it towards anyone else but himself. He was the one living his life. He was the one needing affirmation. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he continued, “I hate myself but it’s okay. It’s okay.” Seokjin sucked in another breath and willed himself to think about nothing but his plan.

He worked on a draft message in which he invited his brothers and soulmates to meet up for an open conversation. He would have to talk with Namjoon and Jimin in a bit. Hopefully they were still there. Seokjin would like to avoid Suhee on the communication channels he shared with the two of them. 

Seokjin only took the shirt and underwear from the bundle of clothes left for him in the room. He had taken a shower and had been almost lost in how good high-pressured water sprays felt on his skin. He tried to clean up as good as possible, but his hair remained a bit of a problem. Had Seokjin been handy, he could have braided it. Had Seokjin been a bit more caring for himself, he’d have it cut a long time ago. It didn’t look too bad, just unpractical. Seokjin swiped his hair out of the way as he made his way down stairs. Along the staircase big picture of family portraits were displayed. Three of them. Two of both Namjoon and Jimin’s family separate respectively, and one of the two families together, supposedly at their wedding. It reminded Seokjin of looking at the pictures in Yoongi’s apartment. The people on the picture felt like strangers. They were of course mostly strangers for Seokjin, but the artificial smiles on both Namjoon and Jimin’s faces made it more so. The wedding attire seemed very traditional. Nothing groundbreaking, and even a bit boring. The facial expressions of all the men in the pictures were mostly bored and those of the women almost frightful. Seokjin recognised these types of pictures; cold interiors in high quality studios. His parents used to drag him and his older brother when they were little in uncomfortable clothes to weird locations to fit a certain aesthetic. Seokjin had to look away. It was silly being reminded of a life that wasn’t his anymore. He had declared his parents dead for a long time and planned on continuing so. These pictures on Namjoon’s and Jimin’s walls told stories of a perfect family. Seokjin could not imagine himself being up there. 

From the kitchen, low voices could be heard. The smell of coffee was present and got more tangible with each step that Seokjin took towards the room. 

Like a picture, they were posed. Namjoon was leaning against the kitchen island, a magazine with a tree on the cover in one hand, lifted in the air. Jimin sitting cross-legged on one of the bar stools at just the right angle to be able to look over his shoulder alongside Namjoon to read whatever wonders their little tree magazine had to offer. On the cover  _ five secret ways to breathe air _ . Simultaneously the two of them snapped back and looked at Seokjin.  _ Click _ ! That would be the cover for a lifestyle magazine.

“Seokjin,” Jimin said with a small smile, “you’re awake.”

“Yeah,” Seokjin affirmed, stepping closer to them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash like that. Thank you for taking care of me like that.”

Namjoon nodded, putting down the magazine. “Always, Seokjin,” Namjoon said earnestly, “did you sleep well?”

Seokjin nodded. “Yes, fantastic,” he said a bit too chirpy. He dialled it down immediately. He could not use that tone when he was about to ask them for a serious talk. “Again, thank you.”

“Come sit with us,” Jimin promoted and patted the chair next to him. Seokjin walked over obediently and took place. “You want some coffee?” Jimin asked. Seokjin nodded. A moment later Namjoon placed a mug in front of him. Seokjin latched on to the mug's ear, trying to occupy his hands. His strands fell from in front of his face as he focused on the hot aromas swirling up to his nose. Coffee was actually pretty disgusting. He’d like a smoke instead.

“I...,” that was as far as where Seokjin’s courage could carry him.

“You’re going to say something serious,” Namjoon said as he took place in front of both him and Jimin. Seokjin didn’t look up, but nodded. It was silent for a moment and then Jimin sucked in a breath. Belatedly, Seokjin realised they must have been exchanging looks. “We have also something serious to share,” Namjoon spoke softly. “Or to show you and ask you about.” 

There was a rustling noise and Seokjin looked up. Between the magazine pages Namjoon extracted a small envelope. 

“This fell out of your coat when we put it on the rack,” Jimin said.

Seokjin couldn’t look at them. His eyes were trained on that damned envelope. Namjoon didn’t push it over the table like Suhee had, he merely let it rest on the counter as if it was too disgusting to even touch.

_ Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck- _

“I...,” Seokjin coughed to clear his throat. 

“It’s okay, we’re not mad,” Namjoon said. His voice was kind, but also strained. “We haven’t really talked about why you reached out to us. We just wanted to believe what we hoped for. You owe us nothing, and we-”

“-no,” Seokjin interrupted and surprised himself with how firm he sounded. But he truly felt this. No, this was not how his plan was supposed to go. He looked up at Namjoon and shook his head. “No, Namjoon,” Seokjin said. “There a lot is happening and I do owe you an explanation, but it is too big. It is too much to just draw conclusions based on this envelope. Whatever you’re thinking it’s not true. I’m not a beggar.”

Jimin eased his hand over Seokjin's and squeezed. “I know you aren’t,” Jimin wanted to say more but stopped himself. Seokjin noted this based on how he closed his mouth like an afterthought. Jimin had pointed out what Seokjin wasn’t, but not what he was. Seokjin had a hard time reading Jimin. 

Namjoon nodded along. “Then what are supposed to do?”

Seokjin sighted relieved. This was the room he needed for his plan. “I want us to have a conversation,” Seokjin said as calmly as he could manage. His palms were sweating, but his voice remained stable. “I think we need a conversation in which we can discuss all the things that we don’t understand and want from each other.” Namjoon and Jimin were nodding along, sharing the sentiment behind Seokjin’s words. But now came the hard part. “I want this conversation to also be with my friends,” yes, this startled them. Namjoon frowned and Jimin froze where his hand touched Seokjin’s. “I don’t know if you remember this, but right before we met I was talking about how my roommates were all planning on moving out. They are more than just roommates for me, I hope you knew this as well.”

Namjoon nodded. “Yes, I got that sense,” he said, “they’re your best friends, right?”

Seokjin nodded and ignored the ache I’m his chest. “Well yeah, kind of. We lost contact around the same time I lost contact with you two and I’ve been just a bit lost on why I’ve been…,” Seokjin shrugged and coughed a bit, “So I thought - sensing that you all know  _ of  _ each other rather than really  _ know  _ each other - I thought instead of talking about each other why not talking with each other. Together?”

Namjoon nodded. “Of course, that’s not a problem. This sounds important to you, so we will be there.” Namjoon reached out and put his hand on top of their bundled hands. “Right, Jimin?” 

Seokjin turned to look at Jimin. Jimin hesitated. He forced a smile on his face. It suddenly felt very cold, and Seokjin wanted to pull away his hand. “Yes, of course,” Jimin said and then laughed at their expressions. “Seriously, I think this is a good idea. Talking is always good. I was just caught off guard,” Jimin elaborated. “You seemed very close with your roommates, so losing contact with them feels like news to me. I thought it was just us.”

Ah.

There is a lot of that going around

“So...” Seokjin reached out for his phone, and placed it on the counter next to the envelope. “Would it then be okay if I send them a message now asking for a meet up? And I’m not even sure if they’d respond, and that if they do that they’d respond positively. So, I can’t guarantee anything. That does not mean that I won’t owe you guys an explanation. It’s just that I want everyone to be on the same page or, at least everyone to me - since you guys and my friends do not need to know each other. It is really just me demanding a lot from a lot of people. I know this, I’m sorry. Actually, you don’t have to agree. You know this, right? I should have probably started off with that. I’m so sorry for my lack of manners. I don’t-”

“Seokjin,” Namjoon’s voice cut right through the room. He sounded stern and the frown between his eyes was grave. Seokjin felt himself sinking in his seat. “Please don’t talk about yourself like that. Please don’t put yourself down like that.”

Seokjin felt his mouth click shut.

“He’s right,” Jimin said and stroked Seokjin’s shoulders. Seokjin breathed in. He willed himself to remain calm. Jimin was very touchy. Seokjin should tell him that it distracted him. Seokjin should tell him that he was not used to being surrounded by soulmates.

Instead Seokjin said: “So it’s okay?”

Namjoon scooted over, and again Seokjin was between them. They embraced him with a certain amount of pressure that left no room for imagination; they wanted him to feel like he wasn’t alone.

Seokjin send out a message together with his two soulmates watching and helping him formulate the text. They didn’t comment on his almost non existing contact list. They hadn’t even commented on his long hair, although Jimin started to stroke it as if it were a matter of course. Seokjin didn’t object, Seokjin was too focussed on how his brothers would react.

It took his brothers half an hour to react. In that time Namjoon had proudly showed Seokjin how much he’d improved in cooking by providing them with toasts. “Wow, Namjoon. You’re almost a chef,” Seokjin said experimentally joking. It landed well. Both Namjoon and Jimin got a good chuckle out of it. Upon their last bites of breakfast did Seokjin’s phone start to vibrate. The messages were coming in.

Jungkook was the first to react. He talked on behalf of both him and Taehyung saying that they like the idea and are open to welcome everyone at their place, given that Taehyung wouldn’t be able to mobilise himself whilst still being in casts. 

Seokjin cringed a bit at how pushy he now sounded. Maybe he should have waited until Taehyung could move on his own. He literally just trapped them in their house with his selfish need to have a conversation that no one else asked-

“Casts? Is he okay?” Jimin asked reading along.

Seokjin nodded. “Yeah, he just… it’s actually what started all of this; Taehyung got in a car accident recently. He’s okay, just got discharged from the hospital. They reached out to me because of it.” Seokjin didn’t look at them and carried on reading. Whatever Namjoon and Jimin made from that would be clarified during the potential conversation. 

Hoseok also reacted positively. He even immediately gave up dates and times for when he’d be available.

Yoongi agreed, saying that he’d only do this if this was Seokjin’s idea and no one else's.  _ If no one is pushing you to _ . Seokjin responded that this was what he wanted and they were left picking a date.

Namjoon and Jimin had brought up their tablet with a crazy looking schedule and discussed amongst themselves what to do and where to push certain things. While they were looking at it, and hearing them talk about things that Seokjin had no knowledge of, he felt the need to demand one more thing:

“Would it be alright if Suhee doesn’t know about this meetup?”

They both looked up. They were both frowning and Namjoon looked even a tad bit suspicious. “Is it because of that?” he asked pointing at the envelope.

It wasn’t actually. The envelope wasn’t the only thing, but it was the only tangible thing. “Y-yes. I’d feel embarrassed,” Seokjin offered. He would explain everything later. Right now, he didn’t want to ruin everything. Later everything would be shared.

“That’s okay,” Jimin said with another forced smile. He then turned to Namjoon. “We can then just arrange things with Dowon. Give him an alibi and Suhee wouldn’t know.”

Namjoon nodded slowly, visibly taking everything in. He was right to do so of course. Seokjin was a very selfish person, you see. He tended to not see that it was difficult for others too. He literally just showed up in their lives after a year of disappearance and now he was requesting something pretty big. First they find out that Seokjin had talked with Suhee and that that resulted in him leaving with an envelope. An envelope that Seokjin had not voluntarily shared its existence with them. And now, Seokjin wanted them to all meet at the house of one of his old roommates, who both Namjoon and Jimin hardly even knew. On top of that, there is a sad story about a car accident. And somehow Seokjin wanted them to fake an alibi, luring them to a place where no one would be able to find them. Surely, this is how beggars work.

“Alright,” Namjoon said terse. “Like Yoongi said, I’m doing this because you want this.”

They set a date and time.

As if that had been the hardest part the real world knocked on the door. Namjoon and Jimin were busy people. They’d been lying claiming to be sick, just like how Seokjin did to his boss. Very awkwardly, Seokjin suggested him leaving. Jimin suggested driving him where he needed. Seokjin refused. Namjoon insisted. Seokjin persisted. Jimin took the car keys. They drove him to the bus stop. There they kissed goodbye, with the promise of things going to change.

Seokjin watched the car drive away and stayed at the bus stop. He took out his phone and started answering some of the Reddit Replies. He then opened a new screen to create another post. It was very brief, kind of like how you’d say hello to someone in public whilst being in a rush. 

One of the things that both the Reddit Replies and Namjoon and Jimin had in common was that none of them wanted to hear Seokjin talk down about himself. He did this naturally because he tended to be too honest about how he felt about himself. But no one was interested in hearing how stupid he was. He could keep that in, and think about it when it was most important. He understood this of course. His clumsiness was unattractive. His hatred made him ugly. He shouldn’t bother others with that.

Seokjin went to the convenience store. He apologised to his boss, who just rolled his eyes. Sejin was a mellow guy nonetheless, seeing right through Seokjin’s bullshit. “You got your hair all up in your face, wearing clean clothes and all. Last night would have been worth it if whoever they were had your poison.”

Seokjin grimaced and gave no other reactions to what Sejin said. He took a pack from a rack and announced lazily that he’d start off his shift with a break.

Then finally, finally, finally- with his outlook on the city of dreamers and the absence of all the intimidating figures in his life, Seokjin took a deep drag. He could feel it burn, making him a little lovingly sick in the stomach. He leaned back against the corner store and breathed out a cloud of nervousness and hope. At last, he was making moves.

###  [Seokjin’s Reddit Post: “Thank you!”]

Hello strangers on the internet! Thank you so much for all the replies. You guys are absolutely right, and I will work on the advice you provided me with. I asked all of them (both my brothers and my soulmates) to have a conversation together. They all agreed with almost no resistance. I had the chance to meet my soulmates and that was good. So I will work on my communication skills and be honest with them about how I feel. I also want to ask them how it came to this, and eventually I hope all the money problems will resolve themselves haha. So it will all work out, thanks to you guys! Even though I missed them a lot and want to be with them as soon as possible, there is also a side of me that wants to be left alone after all of this. I know this is the opposite on how I started these posts, but I feel like I might need some time for myself. I appreciate the advice on how to love myself, but don’t worry, I don’t hate myself. Sometimes I just sound a bit pessimistic, but I don’t mean it or anything lol. 

So thank you, don’t worry, thank you and goodbye!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again sorry. I hope this still enjoyable, let me know.  
> And as stated before: see if you can respond to Seokjin’s Reddit post I will be picking responses for in the next chapter. The formatting in the comments for this is as follows: [TO REDDIT OP: {insert your response}]  
> I hope we can go on a fun journey together and that those reading this have a good day.


	4. Hello Strangers, these are my friends (pt 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. As you may know, there are some strange things going on in the world these days. I'm doing my best, I hope you all remain safe.
> 
> Please read the tags
> 
> added tag: discussions, mention of blood and violence

###  **[A Different Corner of the Story]**

Something strange was boiling inside the pit of Yoongi’s stomach. It was this pressing feeling that he’d feel whenever he tried to put his mind into not thinking about anything – not saying anything he'd regret. His lips were pursed shut and his eyes were squinting at the table. Six mugs of lukewarm tea. No one had taken a sip. No one really spoke and seriously this was becoming sick and stupid. The theories going through his mind were even more so. Yoongi could not look up and face the music. He shouldn’t. He’d do something thoughtless like sharing his thoughts.

“So um… Seokjin didn’t come with you guys?” Hoseok spoke tentatively. The first thing being said after all the pleasantries and the pouring of tea. As Hoseok spoke he eyed the seventh mug at the head of the small dinner table. It was empty.

Yoongi had to sneak a glance as Jimin – a national sensation in all arts except for originality – cleared his throat before answering. “Yeah no, he didn’t. I thought- we thought he’d be with you guys.”

Hoseok nodded and looked at Taehyung and Jungkook with a frown. Taehyung, despite being in casts, looked more healthier than when Yoongi first saw him. Jungkook had been taking good care of him and it showed in how optimistic he looked as far as that was possible. If Yoongi understood the situation correctly, Taehyung was the only one who hadn’t seen Seokjin in a long time.

“Strange,” Jungkook muttered.

Namjoon – hair looking like it’s worth millions yet still looking effortlessly – made an agreeing sound. “Seokjin doesn’t seem like the type to be late for things,” he mused.

There was something about famous people that radiated famousness. In this small room it was unmistakably so. Jimin was wearing make-up. Namjoon wasn’t, he had his expensive looking hair. It was just that it was obvious that the both of them were toning it down, in the most celebrity way. Their marriage rings were on, looking modest with their black features, probably worth more than the entire apartment complex.

Yoongi had to dig his nails in his palms. He was not going to react. He was not going to say something like _you are his fucking soulmates, you should know him best. You should know that Seokjin is never late. You should know where he is right now. You shouldn’t be stupidly sitting here in your overpriced clothes like this is some variety show challenge. Go eat a fucking-_

But the truth was this: Seokjin was more than half an hour late. They had texted him, tried calling him, and Yoongi started having a hunch. After a year of not seeing Seokjin and silently wishing him the best, meeting again like this was not what he had wanted. Because if Seokjin wasn’t with his soulmates, and wasn't responding to their signals, there were only a few things Yoongi could imagine going on here. Yoongi had been ignoring Hoseok’s worried looks. Taehyung and Jungkook wouldn’t know what to think. Hearing Namjoon and Jimin it seemed like they also didn’t know. It seemed like Yoongi had miscalculated a whole bunch of things. The best thing that could happen was Seokjin showing up and punching him in the face again for good measure. If Yoongi could, he’d help Seokjin in the process.

“Maybe we should try calling him again,” Taehyung said to the table. With only one working hand his request was to be executed by someone else. Jungkook pulled out his phone, and gave Taehyung’s a tiny squeeze. Yoongi’s eyes followed the motion and imagined some sort of electric sensation running through them. Maybe this was the reason why Taehyung was recovering so well.

The two of them had tidied up the room. It was a one bedroom apartment with a lot of stuff and little room for this many visitors. The chairs surrounding the table were mostly improvised artefacts. Yoongi remembered how proud Jungkook had been when he’d showed Taehyung the catch he’d made with this apartment. It was close to the school Taehyung taught at, close enough to the city centre for Jungkook to hustle. They had an outlook on a street rather than brick walls, and the crime rate wasn’t too bad here. The two of them had matured in this place, more than they’d ever could have under Seokjin and Yoongi’s watch. Here they were unshielded from harsh realities and somehow they made it work. They made it home. Somehow they were completely okay with inviting two nationally famous people in their small home. They had followed the customs that Seokjin had taught them and had offered everyone tea before the conversation could start.

Unlike Yoongi, they didn’t seem phased by Namjoon and Jimin’s celebrity status – maybe a little in the beginning. To Yoongi the celebrity glow didn’t wear off, even after half an hour of awkwardness. No, to Yoongi this entire moment felt so photoshopped that it had to be some expensive joke.

“He still doesn’t pick up,” Jungkook muttered after a while.

Namjoon sighted and exchanged a look with Jimin. When they came in they weren’t wearing face masks like how Yoongi would have imagined them to. They came in driving a big car by themselves, wearing casual clothing, no bags, no coats, just themselves and a small envelope that lay on the table. It had been resting there with the untouched mugs of tea.

“Well,” Namjoon said after the silent conversation he had with Jimin – Yoongi couldn’t help but watch them. Was it true? (He was too proud to ask Jungkook and Taehyung.) Could soulmates really communicate without speaking? – “It seems like there might have been some misunderstanding,” Namjoon followed. He shoved his seat back, he and Jimin were given the best chair options of course. Namjoon’s tone carried so much diplomacy that it made Yoongi wonder whether he should feel offended on behalf of something hidden. “We leave this here, and you can ask Seokjin later what the purpose is,” Namjoon pointed at the envelope. He and Jimin were already standing, causing Jungkook to also jump out of his chair. Hoseok and Taehyung looked a bit confused. Yoongi was wary.

“What’s this for?” Taehyung asked, nodding at the envelope. Yoongi could geuss.

Namjoon didn’t answer. 

“Ask Seokjin. It’s his anyways,” Jimin said in his place. _Then why do they have it?_

“We don’t mind you guys waiting here or something,” Jungkook said fleetingly as Namjoon and Jimin still made moves to leave.

Taehyung nodded. “Yeah, don’t feel rushed out. You’re more than welcome here.” Taehyung looked over at Hoseok who still looked confused and then at Yoongi. Taehyung rolled his eyes at whatever he found on Yoongi’s face. “Please ignore these old geezers over there. You’re fine waiting here on Seokjin for a bit.”

“We don’t want to impose,” Jimin said nicely. The smile he accompanied it with almost looked real.

“Yeah,” Namjoon added nodding, and then looked at Jimin “Suhee is probably wondering how we’re doing.”

Yoongi frowned upon hearing that name. He sucked in a breath as stealthy as possible, but catching Hoseok’s eyes made it clear that his reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Even Namjoon turned to look at him. His facial expression daring: _What?_

“Suhee is your…” Yoongi said under the shifted attention. He wanted them to finish his sentence.

Namjoon’s lips remained a thin line.

Jimin unabashedly answered, “She works for us.”

“Oh,” Yoongi said, as if that didn’t scare him. _Oh_ , like that woman is still in the picture. _Oh,_ like he should talk with Seokjin privately. _Oh_ , like maybe he had a good hunch about what was in the envelope on the table. _Oh_ , like- “Your people don’t know you’re here?” _Does Suhee know they’re here?_

At this, Namjoon’s expression became full-on wary. “Why do you care?”

Yoongi shrugged and tried to think fast and not falter under the scrutiny. “Just wondering, you know. You guys are famous, Taehyung is a teacher. More drama to all of this won’t be good for him to keep his job, you know,” at this Taehyung said a quiet confused ‘what’, Yoongi went on, “I was just wondering if your team of people might have attracted some paparazzi is all.”

Namjoon stepped back to the table, and came back to the conversation. He wasn’t the oldest in the room. Yoongi had to remind himself of this as he was stared down by the guy. “We are professionals, Yoongi,” Namjoon used formal honorifics, those for distant acquaintances, “Seokjin invited us to a private gathering and we are considerate of that, and his friends. No one followed us, don’t worry.”

Yoongi felt a grimace forming on his face. “Of course,” Yoongi said, and looked away. Namjoon was too intense for his liking. “Of course,” Yoongi muttered more quietly, “you’re professionals.”

“Yoongi,” Hoseok sighted and put a worrying hand on his shoulder; a plea. A quiet _back off_.

Yoongi ignored him and gave the married couple a look. Maybe a bit too challenging, not that polite. But like most people in the tiny room, did he not want them to leave before Seokjin got here. Seokjin had to get here. So Yoongi stared them down, eyebrows raised. 

Namjoon hesitated, clenching his jaw before he gave in. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why-”

“-Namjoon,” Jimin interrupted, placing a hand on his shoulder, “please don’t. Let’s just leave.”

“Yoongi,” Jungkook said warningly after witnessing the exchange. Yoongi looked away. Ever since Jungkook had gotten older he said the things Hoseok said with his eyes. “Please shut up if you’re gonna be a dick,” Jungkook added. He then turned to the couple. “It’s fine, let me walk you out.”

Their footsteps made soft noises. Yoongi noted this to be completely sure that the other noise resounding in the room was indeed not coming from them. A loud thud against the door made everyone in the room pause.

Quick looks were exchanged, and then another thud followed by a scraping sound.

Yoongi’s eyes followed how Jungkook shook his head at Taehyung’s questioning eyes. _He hasn’t been in any trouble recently_. Yoongi then noted how Jimin protectively stood in front of Namjoon. Hoseok slowly rose from his chair and joined Jungkook in approaching the door.

Then a knock instead of a thud came from behind the door.

Without exchanging looks with Hoseok, Jungkook went for the door and opened it in one smooth notion. Yoongi would have rolled his eyes at how tactless that was, had he not been too captivated by curiosity.

The door flung open, and Hoseok and Jungkook had to move fast to catch their oldest brother. The movements were fast and blurry with how Seokjin’s hair hid most of his face, but Yoongi had seen enough. There was blood underneath Seokjin’s coat, his face was busted, and his pathetic attempt to stand tall was sickeningly too familiar.

“Oh my god!” Namjoon shrieked, Jimin had his eyes blown open. Taehyung was craning his neck from his fixed position and was looking just as shocked. Yoongi couldn’t see Jungkook’s expression, but Hoseok didn’t look shocked, more confused, and wary – like Yoongi.

Yoongi stood up as well and went over to them as they carefully laid Seokjin down on the floor a little away from the door. Yoongi closed the door, crouched down next to Seokjin’s body and started cursing in the most creative way. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, not this again, fuck, fuck, fuck…_

Hoseok froze, and Yoongi wanted to do the same. Instead Yoongi saw this as an invitation to order him around. “Hold his head up a bit, he might hurt himself,” Yoongi told Hoseok. It broke Hoseok from his frozen state, and he went to work. Yoongi exchanged an understanding look with Jungkook and they both went to open Seokjin’s coat. It was not padded, and too small for this weather. His thin shirt underneath was also not appropriate for the season, and Yoongi had to swallow away his complaints. Jungkook’s hand stopped moving and Yoongi frowned. Looking up he found the younger looking over his shoulders. “What is it?” Yoongi asked before also turning to see what Jungkook was looking at.

Jimin was on his phone.

“What are you doing?” Yoongi asked very loudly, and tensed. He hadn’t raised his voice like this in ages. He could see Taehyung flinch in his seat.

Namjoon still looked shocked, but also more incredulous. “He’s calling an ambulance, what else are we supposed to-”

“-you fucking- hang up!” Yoongi roared, “Damnit, fucking hang up right now!” Jimin made no move to hang up, and Yoongi could actually feel a vein pop out in his neck as he stood up. “I said, hang up!”

“You are crazy,” Namjoon said and in his turn stepped in front of Jimin. “Don’t hang up. Call for help. This whole thing is crazy,” Namjoon muttered and Yoongi was done. He’d been patient enough.

Seokjin was mumbling things. Stupid things like; “I’m okay, don’t worry. Don’t worry…”

Yoongi ignored him, because his priority list was being screwed with. “Jungkook, check for injuries,” Yoongi commanded as he stepped towards the married couple.

“Yes, I’m calling for an emergency,” Jimin spoke into the phone.

This close to Namjoon Yoongi saw something in his eyes he hadn’t before. It was the same look Jungkook wore right after Taehyung’s accident. “You think you’re helping, I get that, but you’re not,” Yoongi said trying to boil down how tense he felt, “Hang up for a second while we assess the situation ourselves. Let’s not overreact. Believe me when I say that calling right now is not the best move.” Yoongi reasoned trying for a more calmer approach. It worked a little. He saw Namjoon hesitating now. He was looking at Jungkook, and Jungkook-

“I spot no injuries besides his face,” Jungkook reported to the room.

“Jimin, wait,” Namjoon said with a doubtful look. And Jimin, _thank fuck_ , halted the conversation.

“No bruising on his chest and back?” Yoongi asked Jungkook.

“No bruising,” Jungkook confirmed.

“See,” Yoongi said this to Namjoon, “let’s not jump to conclusions. I didn’t have a close look, but seeming as Hoseok hasn’t yelled, Seokjin also doesn’t have a visible head injury. No internal bleeding as he has no bruising on his chest and back. Probably a concussion at most. Your soulmate will survive. Now calm the fuck down.”

Namjoon was eyeing Yoongi with a mixture of emotions that followed each other in a neat order. That fire from before was subsiding, making room for the suspicious glare from before. He’d calmed down at least. Yoongi wondered what Namjoon saw through his glare. He wondered how blinded Namjoon was by his attraction to his soulmate, how clear Namjoon still could see. At least telling him that his soulmate would survive should do something. If there was one thing Yoongi had learned about soulmates, it was reassuring them that their bond was okay could do wonders. It was easy enough that even an idiot like himself could remember that. Maybe what calmed Namjoon down was the fact that someone with eyes as lifeless as Yoongi’s was telling him simple truths that were not clouded by animalistic desires.

“Namjoon?” Jimin asked uncertainly, phone removed from his ear.

Namjoon sighted. “Hang up,” he said atoned, “We can call later. Seokjin is not in immediate danger.” It took a moment or two, but at last Jimin hung up.

Yoongi visibly exhaled and wasted no time to move back to Seokjin. He crouched down and reassessed that what Jungkook had stated was true. He slipped his hand underneath Seokjin’s head, through his long hair and found no injuries. For a second time he visibly exhaled. He then pushed back Seokjin’s hair and tried looking at him.

“… don’t worry, don’t worry…” Seokjin was still mumbling, keeping his eyes closed. He must have a headache.

“Guys, what’s going on?” Taehyung sounded concerned. Yoongi saw Jungkook pensively looking over and refraining from moving over to Taehyung.

“Go to him,” Yoongi ordered Jungkook, who briefly hesitated to leave before going to his soulmate. Yoongi looked over his shoulder. “Can one of you give us a pillow, a glass of water with a straw, and a cloth.” That made Namjoon and Jimin move.

Yoongi focussed back on Seokjin’s face. He had a busted lip and a bruising cheekbone. The blood on his shirt most likely came from his busted lip. Seokjin had opened his eyes now and stopped mumbling. He was blinking blearily and not reflectively to his surroundings.

“Fuck,” Seokjin whispered at last.

“You can say that again,” Yoongi muttered.

A pillow replaced Hoseok’s hands. A wet cloth was given to Yoongi and a glass of water with no straw was placed besides him.

“What happened to him? Is he okay?” Yoongi couldn’t bother figuring out who that was out of the two husbands.

Yoongi placed the cloth on Seokjin’s cheekbone. That seemed to snap the older back into the room. He hissed and made a face. “There you go,” Yoongi said, feeling his heart finally beating slower.

“Yoongi,” Seokjin said, adjusting his eyes to him.

“Yes, it’s me,” Yoongi said, feeling suddenly very overwhelmed. “What the fuck Seokjin,” Yoongi muttered so quietly afraid that anyone would hear him and his insecurities. He needed a moment to himself.

“I-” Seokjin was talking, was all Yoongi took away from that.

“You still smoke right,” Yoongi said suddenly. Seokjin frowned. Yoongi raised an eyebrow and pressed the cloth a bit harsher on Seokjin’s cheekbone.

“Yoongi, what the fuck,” Hoseok said, but didn’t stop him.

“Well, yeah,” Seokjin said with a scraped voice.

“You got any on you?” Yoongi asked.

Seokjin was frowning harder. “Uh…”

Yoongi didn’t let him finish and searched Seokjin’s coat pockets and found two things he expected: an envelope, and a pack of cigarettes. Looking at his eyes; Seokjin knew that Yoongi knew. The look they exchanged left little room for misinterpretation.

“No lighter?”

Seokjin shook his head.

Yoongi left the cloth on Seokjin’s chest and took out a cigarette from the pack.

“I thought you quit,” Seokjin remarked as Yoongi moved away to the kitchenette. Namjoon and Jimin immediately took over Yoongi’s place next to Seokjin’s body. Saying things like _are you okay? Oh my god, Seokjin_.

Yoongi lit up his cigarette with one of the burners.

“You can’t smoke in here, Yoongi!” Taehyung said, “the smoke detectors will-”

“-alright, alright,” Yoongi said and moved to the door and looked at the mess of people in the room. He took one drag despite Taehyung’s disapproving sound. Seokjin on the floor, Taehyung in caskets. Jungkook and Hoseok looking expectantly at Yoongi. Two nation’s sweethearts draped on the floor. _Fuck!_ The burn of the drag was exactly what Yoongi needed, something to keep him grounded, because this wasn’t a fucking dream. This wasn’t a fucking a nightmare. This was real. “If anyone needs me, I’m outside taking a break. Don’t worry, I’ll be back and have some tea.” Yoongi then pointed at Seokjin, “Prepare for a fucking mess.” With that Yoongi opened the door and stepped outside.

###  **[** Responses to Seokjin’s Reddit Post – The People of the internet]

 _Hey! I'm so glad everyone is talking! That's so good. You are a brave person for doing this. One thing: Make sure to manage your expectations about how everyone will react. Some people will be open. Some will not. The important thing is that they all show they care about you. I still think you need to consider yourself as important here and care about yourself and your feelings, too. [_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/282112096) _]_

 _Oh! Please don’t hate yourself! Please don’t joke about that...But anyway, I am glad the advice work out! :) [_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/282157819) _]_

 _I'm really glad you decided to take these steps! I understand the "working on myself" part, and believe me, it can be difficult, and take up a lot of effort, but it's always worth it.. I hope everything works out for u! Best of luck! [_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/282223009) _]_

 _I'm glad things are kind of working out for you. I hope you get to have some closure whatever way things develop. And as I've said time and time again, do what's best for yourself. I hope things go well with the meeting! Good luck!!!...and maybe tell us of how things went? I'm kind of invested! [_ [ _ORIGINAL_ ](https://archiveofourown.org/comments/282243520) _]_

###  **[The Same Corner of The Story]**

Two days before the scheduled meeting at Taehyung and Jungkook’s place, Seokjin was skimming through Reddit Replies and couldn’t fight the giddy smile that danced on his lips. Everyone was _glad_ with what he was doing. No matter how awkward it had been to introduce this idea, it wasn’t a bad thing that he wanted to talk and his friends on the internet felt the same.

“What are you grinning at?”

Seokjin looked up, his boss stepped in the shop. Seokjin’s shift was over. Upon Sejin’s ‘well?’, Seokjin shrugged as he stepped away from the register. “Nothing,” Seokjin said unconvincingly. 

Sejin opened his mouth to say something, but then thought otherwise and forced a smile, looking amused. He shook his head and went over to the counter and checked the cash in the register, wrote down a couple of things.

Seokjin was already picking out another cigarette pack when he asked “Hey, can I work extra?”

“Fuck no. You want little vacations, fine. Just don’t make your rent my problem,” Sejin muttered.

Seokjin hummed. Fair enough.

“But Seokjin, I got to tell you something” Sejin sounded more grounded this time. It made Seokjin turn and look at the elder. They were the only ones in the shop, they made no noise and could only listen to the buzzing sound from the refrigerator and fluerenstic light tubes. It was getting dark outside, and Seokjin had been thinking about eating dinner here and keeping Sejin and himself company before he’d go to bed. Just one smoke, and he’d be back. But Sejin looked at him funny now. 

Self-consciously Seokjin weaved his hand through his hair. Sejin didn’t really care about appearances. That couldn’t be it.

“What?” Seokjin asked when Sejin didn’t continue.

“You know that not that many people come here,” Sejin said slowly, and Seokjin had to pause. No one really knew this place. It was a last resort kind of stop, and even then drivers would prefer to go an extra mile to find a more suitable place to have their needs taken care of. Seokjin hadn’t let anyone know that he lived on this street. Everyone he knew only knew his bus stop. “Let alone someone coming here and asking for you,” Sejin continued before he pointed at Seokjin’s hand: cigarette pack and phone. “One of your friends knows you work here?”

Seokjin gripped both items more tightly as if it would make him more powerful over the situation. “No. I don’t- I talk with internet friends. Mostly… recently… I don’t really- ”

“-I know, I know. I know that you don’t really have a life,” Sejin ushered as if that wasn’t the point. “Which is why it boggled me the other day when two men came here; older than you, wearing suits and sunglasses in October!” Sejin had a wry smile on his face. “Suits or not, they were thugs and they were asking for you,” – Seokjin’s pack slipped out of his grip. He refrained from looking over his shoulders. He willed his mind to quiet down and to listen before jumping to conclusions. –“So, the question is: who are you? Seokjin? No. No, I told them there is no Seokjin here. I told them I have a son who works here with me and that the rest of the young people are deep in the city.” Sejin’s smile dropped and his frown was icy. This might be the first time that Seokjin had seen his boss upset. “What the fuck, Seokjin. Who am I lying to?”

Seokjin closed his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Out of all times, not now.

“Seokjin?”

“Yeah, don’t worry uh…” Seokjin picked up the fallen pack, and walked over to get his coat on and dug in his pockets. He got his wallet out and hesitated with his keys. No, he lived down the road. He could sprint back home, get warmer clothes and dump his things here before it’d be too late.

“What are you going to do?” Sejin stopped Seokjin from dropping his phone on the counter too. Seokjin had to look at the older man and felt his chest tightening; right now was not the time to be afraid.

“I…,” Seokjin’s mind went blank. He couldn’t think of a good excuse, “I don’t know. I have to look for some things at home and will be back in a bit. We’ll have dinner together, yeah?”

“Seokjin,” this time Sejin sounded a lot more calmer, even a bit remorseful. It made Seokjin pause for the second time and look up. Had Sejin been scared when those thugs had shown up? “Are you going to be okay?”

Seokjin pursed his lips together and nodded. He didn’t trust his voice, feeling that his throat felt closed up. His eyes must have been telling a different story as he nodded yes. 

Sejin forced a smile on his face, saying “I’ll look after your stuff until you come back here for dinner, yes?”

On his way to cross the street to his house, two men in suits appeared. There was an expensive car near the sidewalks, the engine still running. The front man out of the two asked him something along the lines of “We have good reasons to believe that you are Kim Seokjin, and would therefore like to invite you to a formal kidnapping. You’ll get to make one call with your parents in the car.”

Seokjin responded with “Oh, wow. What a request. Sadly can I not help you. My parents are dead and I am not Kim Seokjin.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No. Please leave me alone.”

Some complications happened after that. Let’s say Seokjin made a run for it, and add to that that Seokjin wasn’t fast enough, or strong enough, or smart enough, yet still struggling. The man in suits had no other choice but to punch him in the stomach. Seokjin doubled over and was easily dragged inside the car.

See, it’s little things like this that make you realise that in the end it was Seokjin’s fault. He somehow managed to make something so formal and smooth, turn into a violent disaster. After all these years, he should have been used to this.

They searched him for a phone and wallet he didn’t have. The car drove off into the opposite direction of the city, and Seokjin would have vomited had he eaten something. He cleared his voiced and tried; “I- I have an important appointment in less than two days-”

The driver huffed. “These rich kids are so spoiled,” his voice was heavy and anything but formal. _I’m not a kid…_ Seokjin wanted to say. Maybe Seokjin had ruined any pretence of this becoming a formal matter since he didn’t cooperate immediately. “Don’t worry princess, the more your parents care about you, the sooner this will be over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy, let me know your thoughts!


	5. Hello Strangers, these are my friends (pt2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes. This is a two parter chapter, so here is a double update.

###  **[Another Corner of the Story]**

Seokjin was seated at the head of the table, Yoongi at the other end. This time there was no tea. There was the nervous tapping of Hoseok on the table. There was Namjoon keeping a protective hand on top of Seokjin’s hand. There was Jimin, making no eye contact with anyone. There were Taehyung and Jungkook, failing to hold a nice tea party. And there was Yoongi, pinching his legs and using the pain to remind himself that this was real. He’ll have to avoid gagging if he were about to speak. This had nothing to do with the fact that he just smoked and that the taste surprisingly had made him sick pretty quickly. No, it had everything to do with the fact that Yoongi did not know Seokjin as well as he had thought.

“I’m so sorry for being late and unavailable, guys,” Seokjin spoke to the table. He was cleaned up as much as possible. Jungkook had lent him an oversized black hoodie. With the cap on and his hair hiding the left side of his face, Seokjin seemed to want to disappear. Instead it looked like he drowned away. His bruises weren’t that visible like this. It was the tiredness with which he talked that gave away how he truly felt. It made Yoongi wonder how long it had been since Seokjin properly slept.

“It’s okay,” Hoseok said with a forced smile. “It wasn’t that long.”

Seokjin nodded and let his eyes briefly travel everyone. His eyes rested on Namjoon who seemed to be… speaking with his eyes? Yoongi frowned.  _ Seriously, could soulmates communicate through telepathy? _ Then Seokjin’s eyes fell on the envelope Namjoon and Jimin had been so keen on leaving behind. Seokjin sighted.

“Sorry,” Seokjin apologised again, “I’m a bit… I’m trying to find- trying to string the right words for the right sentences. I had a… I had a plan on what I wanted to talk about and- wait, uh, first thank you all for showing up and coming. Sorry again that I was late, I had a… yeah, sorry. So, the plan…”

Yoongi stopped listening and started observing the others. He didn’t get that far, though. Jungkook’s glowering look told Yoongi enough; Jungkook was mad at him. Yes, Yoongi could resonate with that. Yoongi was also very angry, but also scared. He had no idea how any of this was going to end.

Seokjin went on with his faltering speech, “and as you all know me- I mean with that that I am the one that you all know… or not that well, since we haven’t… for a year- No, ehm let me start with roughly this time last year, right? That was when I last saw all of you, before I somehow lost touch. And I… I want to talk about that.”

Seokjin didn’t sound sure, and Yoongi wanted to say so, but bit his tongue. If he were to say anything he should try and be polite. Like Taehyung who smiled kindly and nodded.

Taehyung said: “I understand, Seokjin. That is totally valid. We should definitely talk about that, because looking around and seeing how nervous Yoongi is and how kind your soulmates have been, I believe there has been a misunderstanding.”

Yoongi had no real time to react to that whiplash. “Thanks, Taehyung,” Yoongi and Seokjin said simultaneously, with different undertones from each other.

“I believe so too,” Seokjin admitted.

“I can start,” Yoongi said to the room.

“No,” Hoseok interrupted. He stopped his fidgeting, and pointed at the envelope laying on the table. “Can we start with that?” He looked over at Seokjin, avoiding the Kim’s, “Is that-”

Seokjin grimaced, and braced his shoulders. “It’s what you asked me for, yes. I didn’t ask for it. But it was given to me.”

“So Suhee gave you this without you asking for it,” Namjoon added for good measure, his one hand forming a firmer grip on Seokjin’s hand, but he was alluding to the envelope. “She gave you this when you wanted to meet me.” Seokjin nodded. “And they-” Namjoon pointed at Hoseok “-contacted you to get this?” The way Namjoon referred to the people in the room as ‘they’ made Yoongi understand why pointing fingers at people is very impolite.  _ Professionals, my ass. _

“Yes,” Yoongi said before either Seokjin or Hoseok could say anything. Namjoon fixed his critical look on Yoongi, Jimin kept his eyes on the envelope. “We asked Seokjin to get in contact with you to ask for money, because of Taehyung’s settlement.”

That made Namjoon, Jimin and Taehyung gasp. Jungkook and Hoseok sputtered in surprise at how blunt it all sounded. Everyone started talking over each other.

“You did what?” Taehyung burst out. Yoongi followed how Jungkook’s eyes widened. The two hadn’t discussed it. Interesting. Jungkook probably hadn’t thought that Yoongi would be honest. “Jungkook, how could you-”

“-so after one year of a fallout you contacted Seokjin for only this…” Jimin was muttering towards the general direction of Hoseok, who looked very guilty, but was not defending himself. Hoseok could though. He could rightfully throw Yoongi under the bus, but that was Taehyung’s role. The poor boy was shooting daggers at Jungkook.

Namjoon seemed far from amused, seeing how Seokjin made no real attempt to deny anything.

“So you guys knew about Suhee?” Namjoon asked the rest.

“I don’t,” Taehyung said frustrated at knowing the least, “I don’t know her. You guys keep bringing her up.”

“She’s their manager,” Hoseok said.

Jungkook frowned. “Did you meet her or something?”

“Or something...” Hoseok looked a bit lost, even more so after stealing a glance at Namjoon and Jimin. “Well, she-”

“-May I clarify,” Yoongi said amidst the little disruption, “The ‘we’ who contacted Seokjin is mostly me, and a bit of Hoseok. But even that is not completely true. The rest don’t know the full truth.”

Seokjin sighted. He looked displeased with the way things were going. But this was what he’d wanted, so he asked Yoongi “The full truth? And that is?”

Yoongi felt a weird sensation circling his lips. Not a smile, nor a grimac. But that something made him uncomfortable. “You tell me, Seokjin,” Yoongi responded. “I thought I comprehended you. All those years… I thought that the place you’d gotten this envelope,” Yoongi pointed at the one laying on the table, “was the same place you got the one inside your pocket.”

The look on Seokjin’s face changed instantly. Seokjin looked surprised, “You thought….” his mouth was slightly agape and he couldn’t finish his sentence “You thought…”. His look turned urgent, and Yoongi could guess what Seokjin was after. He had more questions, wanted more validations, needed more reasons to punch Yoongi not once, but a million times in the face.

But the rest hadn’t caught on. So they said things like:

“Another envelope?” That was Namjoon, who slowly withdrew his hand from Seokjin’s.

“Yoongi, you told me that you knew what you were doing when you told me to listen,” Jungkook had turned away from his fitful conversation with Taehyung and looked pained. “You told me to trust you! Hoseok even you-”

“-How the hell was I supposed to know shit, when none of you tell me-”

“-Seokjin, what is he talking about?” Jimin looked hurriedly at Seokjin. For the first time during the conversation did Jimin slightly raise his voice. But Seokjin wasn’t looking at him.

Seokjin had his eyes fixed on Yoongi and he didn’t seem confident in the way he had been despite his faltering speech. The look in his eyes was wavering, and for once it seemed like Seokjin would not stop Yoongi if he spoke again on the issue of the envelope in his pocket.

So Yoongi took his chance. “Taehyung was right; your soulmates seem very lovely. It wouldn’t make sense for them to hurt you like this,” Yoongi vaguely gestured to Seokjin’s face. The room quieted down. Everyone seemed to sense that right now, Seokjin and Yoongi needed to hold a conversation.

“Then why did you think that- that- that-” Seokjin sucked in a breath and shoved a hand over his face, causing the cap to slightly fall back. He recollected himself, but looked worse. Like he wanted to cry. “-that they’d hurt me like this? I told you trust me on this. I told you not to worry, and to not worry the kids. I told you countless times that my soulmates have nothing to do with this. How could you-”

“-because someone convinced me that they did,” Yoongi said. He looked over at Hoseok, who once again down casted his eyes. Seokjin followed the exchange and leaned closer to the table.

“Hoseok, tell me,” Seokjin sounded urgent, “tell me who convinced you. I won’t believe it was you. Just tell me the truth, I won’t be mad. Just tell me the fucking truth before I go crazy. Hoseok, please-”

“-it was Suhee,” Jimin said, sounding breathy. His eyes were glistening, and Yoongi had to squint his eyes. Why was this guy suddenly emotional? Namjoon looked surprised too. Eyes shifted towards Jimin and he turned to focus on Namjoon. “I believe- that day, the last day we saw Seokjin, remember… I think I sent Suhee to them.”

“You think?” Seokjin asked confused and with a strong frown on his face, “Jimin, you think or you know? When was this?” Jimin was making shapes with his mouth, never settling on an answer, so Seokjin turned back to Hoseok, “Was that it, Hoseok? In that last week before we left the dorms, you spoke to Suhee?”

Hoseok meekly nodded.

“He was the only one at the dorms when Suhee dropped by,” Yoongi filled in, “As I had kept my word and never told Hoseok about you and your envelopes, when he recounted to me his exchange with Suhee, I thought it was full circle.”

Namjoon huffed, clearly not fully understanding what was going on. But it became clear to everyone that Hoseok knew things that Hoseok didn’t understand. “What did Suhee say, what did she do?” Namjoon asked him.

Hoseok looked at Yoongi, questioning. Yoongi had made Hoseok swear on his grave to not share a tiny bit of the fact that Suhee had dropped by. Or even about the fact that there were envelopes. Yoongi had been so adamant about it, because Seokjin had been so adamant about it to Yoongi as well. So funny how they’d been totally wrong.

Yoongi nodded, letting Hoseok know that it was okay to speak truthfully.

“Suhee, she introduced herself as you guys’ manager,” Hoseok recounted with a reluctant voice to the couple. “She talked about us and the way we were treating Seokjin, mind, according to you guys. And she was promising that you were Seokjin’s new life from that point forward. She said that our dorm and us in it were to be left in the past. She was very… determined,” Hoseok sounded bitter, obviously omitting some points. Yoongi remembered how freaked out Hoseok had come up to him when he’d told him everything. Yoongi had to actually calm him down. “Before she left, she wanted to give me an envelope like this,” Hoseok gestured at the one on the table, “I knew what it suggested,” Hoseok said looking pointedly at Seokjin. “But I refused.”

“Then she left?” Namjoon asked with a small voice, like he couldn’t believe what Hoseok had gone through. “You refused her and she left you alone?”

Hoseok shook his head, and smiled sadly, “She threatened me, then she left.”

“That doesn’t sound like her,” Jimin said quietly, he shook his head, “I never told her to do that. I never wanted her to go to your place like that.”

“Then what  _ did _ you do, Jimin?” Namjoon, for all his swag, sounded very disappointed. Yoongi could only agree. With how scrutinizing Namjoon was, he’d never thought Jimin could be a suspect.

“You know what I do,” Jimin said with a tight voice, he must feel cornered. He looked none of them in the eye, going back to the damned envelope on the table. “I share, I talk. It’s what I do. Suhee understands me well, sometimes even better than you it would seem. And back then Seokjin had been so worried about them moving and what not. So I shared that with her too. I told her how I felt, and you knew this too Namjoon. You knew how I felt about Seokjin back then and the bond thing. It was all a bit-”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow. Without needing to think about it, Yoongi felt himself ready to jump in front of Seokjin. Seokjin had sunken back in his chair, trudged the cap back over his face, the small trembling line formed by his lips told Yoongi enough.

“-what’s that supposed to mean?” Yoongi asked poignantly, shooting Jimin a glare. “You’re his soulmates, damn it! You’re supposed to love each other and stuff, right? Read each other’s mind and shit. Is it because we’re not  _ professionals _ like you? What the hell did you mean by that.”

“And you’re his friends, right?” Namjoon attacked Yoongi seemingly on reflex, and it was sharp. It hurt right where it mattered. “You only reach out to him when you need him for money. Not even when you just want to-”

“-and your manager threatened us. Your husband sent her to us,” Hoseok interjected calmly, as if he was afraid to speak up. And Yoongi was grateful, glad that Hoseok brought the conversation back to Jimin. “She threatened us for being Seokjin’s friend. For standing in you guys’ way, and now-”

“-I never told her to go to you and give a damn envelope!” Jimin stepped up.

“Well, you must have said something, right?” Yoongi levelled with the same intensity.

“-I don’t think Jimin meant anything wrong with-” Namjoon didn’t even sound confident as he spoke.

“-don’t we all have the best intentions?” Yoongi spat.

“-but Yoongi,” Jungkook interjected after remaining quiet with Taehyung and watching everything unfold, “Why would their manager threatening us make you listen? Why would-”

“-because of the fucking envelope, Jungkook, don’t you listen?”

“No, he has a point,” Taehyung jumped in, “what good is that envelope, when we-”

“-look at Seokjin now,” Yoongi said, growing impatient, “that is how he looks whenever he’d come back to our dorms with another envelope filled with money.”

Namjoon gasped, “And you thought we beat him up?!”

“What,” Taehyung said quietly, dumbfounded.

“Yes,” Yoongi said decisively to Namjoon, “especially when your lovely manager showed up offering the exact same outcome.”

“But where does Seokjin get these other envelopes from, though?” Taehyung persisted.

Yoongi shrugged, feeling a bit annoyed because despite everything they’ve been through, Seokjin had never trusted him enough to share that. “I don’t know. That’s his story to tell.”

“So you were just assuming things. Seokjin just told you that you should have trusted him,” Jimin piped up, and Yoongi had to squeeze his eyes. Hearing them speak made him want to punch them.

“You don’t understand, Jimin,” Hoseok said instead, “it didn’t add up. I did- I did it mostly to protect the younger ones.”

Jungkook huffed exasperated, “We’re not- you don’t have- we’re not incapable. You don’t have to treat us like babies-”

“-so you don’t trust Seokjin? It’s okay for him to get hurt, but you draw the line when it comes to yourself?” Namjoon concluded with a frown filled with wariness and judgement, “you should have reached out to him, and talked it through. You could have-”

“-and then risk Suhee having to  _ do whatever needs to be done _ ?” Hoseok added with a pointed look, “Seokjin has secrets, which I understand. And I thought that you beating him up was one of them, he wouldn’t say, he wouldn’t stop, no matter what Yoongi and I did – so we coexist. We harmonized, and made it work. We accepted the envelopes and moved on. We had enough problems. And then your manager shows up, with an envelope and threats- what did you expect me to believe? What would you have-”

“-I wouldn’t have believed it,” Namjoon said quietly.

“Liar,” Yoongi replied, without a second thought.

“I’m his soulmate,” Namjoon said more vehemently, “I would have talked to Seokjin, I would believe him and everything he’d have to say. You don’t understand, right? Your eyes, Yoongi,” Namjoon turned to Yoongi after never having spoken out his name to his face. It was strange being on the receiving end of so many mixed emotions of a stranger who up until a couple of hours only existed on the television screen. “You don’t have soulmates, do you? You wouldn’t understand.”

It was everything Yoongi expected a person like Namjoon to say.

“What the hell did you just say?” Taehyung burst out.

Namjoon backed down, shaking his head.

“That was out of line,” Jimin said quietly.

“You think?” Taehyung still had huge eyes filled with disbelief.

“Sorry,” Namjoon mumbled quickly.

“What the hell...” Taehyung muttered, upset enough to forget that he was also upset with Jungkook, who was petting him. 

Yoongi didn’t want to linger in it. It hurt, but that didn’t matter. He wasn’t as important as soulmates, so they shouldn’t linger. He still had questions. He eyed Jimin. “I find it remarkable how you’re acting like this is not your fault,” Yoongi forced himself to remain calm, “Suhee is your manager, you send her to our dorms without consulting anyone, where she threatened us in the name of your holy career. What the fuck did you tell her to make her-”

“I didn’t- I just shared with her my concerns,” Jimin said defensively, “Seokjin seemed very stressed about you guys moving and I just told her that I felt like he had a lot of responsibilities.”

“Did you tell her that we needed money?” Jungkook asked cautiously.

Jimin frowned, “What?”

“Let me rephrase,” Yoongi went on, “did you tell her that we are poor?”

“What are you aiming at?” Namjoon asked with the same misperception written on Jimin’s face.

“What did you tell her that made her want to shove money down our throats?” Hoseok clarified.

“I said nothing like that,” Jimin said. Seemingly without really thinking, so Yoongi had to ask;

“Really?”

“Why won’t you believe me when I say had no ill-intentions when I-”

“I actually don’t understand why you guys haven’t seen Seokjin in over a year, too though,” Taehyung interrupted without seeming to notice, getting out of his own head.

Namjoon sighted, rubbing his eyes and then; “Well to my knowledge, the last person to have seen Seokjin and associated with us this time last year was Suhee.”

Yoongi had to laugh, “Fucking professionals!”

“I think we can establish that everyone is at fault here, Yoongi,” Namjoon spoke through gritted teeth.

“Oh now you want to talk about the collective?”

“Then what is it that you want to do, Yoongi?” Taehyung asked, sounding just as pissed as Namjoon.

“I want everyone to see the fucking irony of this situation, where this is not only my fault but mostly this devil named Suhee, who-”

“-She was probably just trying to do her job, I think. She can’t-”

“-Are you defending her?” Namjoon interrupted Jimin and looked genuinely surprised, “Jimin, you know we’ll have to fire her after this, right? You don’t think-”

“-I don’t know. This is a lot to take, don’t you think so?”

“I’d have to agree with him on that one,” Jungkook murmured, “I told you guys not to treat me like a fucking baby, and yet it is that same old bull-”

“-you are literally picking fights left and right every other-”

“-that’s not true, he’s gotten better,” Taehyung jumped in before Hoseok could go on even more.

“then what is this issue about money and your accident, Taehyung?” Namjoon asked, suddenly sounding like an authority figure. Taehyung clearly seemed intimidated by the address.

So Yoongi stepped in, “He was fucking unconscious. He had nothing to do with me suddenly contacting Seokjin.”

Namjoon frowned, that same look of judgement. “You don’t even sound ashamed.”

Another laugh erupted from Yoongi’s throat, the kind that hurt, “you want to talk about shame? You- You fucking-”

They argued some more.

###  **[The Same Corner of the Story]**

At some point they became quiet, and involuntarily turned their attention towards the head of the table.

Seokjin felt the heavy feeling in his head sink down to his heart. He’d been so cramped up about everything leading up to this point. He’d done everything to get here in time to not miss any of the people in this room. And now that he was here… how could he put it? 

He had dreamed about a moment like this. A reconciliation, where everything would be brought up – and it would be ugly, and hurtful, it had to be. But Seokjin expected it to also be beautiful and encouraging; a proof that many minds and good intentions would result in a strong feeling of togetherness. Like how it used to be in the dorms, how he felt in Namjoon and Jimin’s embrace. 

But now, all that energy leading up to this sunk to his heart, and it felt like it controlled his blood stream. It spread out through his entire body, and it made his movements slow; lifting up his head went slowly, meeting the eyes of all the boys the same. He felt calmer than he could have imagined. But it was better this way, better than excitement that would only make his throbbing head hurt even more. This was disappointment settling in, and keeping him focussed, no longer blinded by his love that never seemed to run out. Seokjin was disappointed in himself.

“I can take a lot,” Seokjin said with a voice so steady he should be surprised, “but I am still the oldest one here. The way you talk about me, and refer to me- do it with respect. That’s all I can ask from you at this moment.”

There was a murmur of apologies that followed without delay.

Seokjin reached inside his pocket and layed out the other envelope everyone had been talking about next to the one Suhee had given him. They didn’t look the same, but they were referred to as the same. They held the same amount of power. If Suhee was a devil, maybe Seokjin was one too.

“For the longest time I had been alone, thinking and imagining what I did wrong,” Seokjin said to them, “I doubted myself a lot and I wondered where I slipped. What I’d done wrong. To see you all after a long time, only to be fighting like this… I don’t like to see you fighting, so please don’t do that. You can be mad at me. For being late, and for how my past never seems to leave me alone, even when all I want is to look onwards to the future. I’ve been trying to enforce that mentality. I don’t like thinking about my past, especially when it comes knocking on my door every now and then,” Seokjin looked over at Yoongi, “I told you not to worry because I didn’t want to think about it. I still don’t. And it wouldn’t have gotten to this had I done a better job at hiding my problems, way back in our dorm. Or to at least trust you the same you all did me. You did what you thought was right, and now I know why. That was all I ever wanted to know,” Seokjin sucked in a breath and looked at the second envelope. 

No one said anything to that. Some nodded. Their lack of response made it heavier for Seokjin to breathe. Or it was him still feeling nauseous. For once the thought of smoking didn’t sound as appeacing. He felt a certain level of calmness possessing him and he wanted to stay here. Even if the important people in his life would leave him after this. He knew that tonight, when he’d try to fall asleep, he’d toss and turn in sweat; in fear, in disbelief, all scared that men in suits would be out there to get him. All weak and crazy thinking back at how powerless he actually was. His chest tightened just a little bit, thinking about his parents. Right now he couldn’t feel it. Here in this room full of dulled out energy and hurtful words, there was no room for him to have an episode, as he called it. He would not cry here. 

“I’ll tell you about this,” Seokjin said, feeling obligated and nodding to the second envelope. This hadn’t been part of his plan, none of this was going like he’d imagined. Before continuing on, Seokjin pushed down his guilt and turned to Jimin. He smiled sadly, saying “Jimin,” very delicately, bordering formal, “does Suhee know about this meet-up?”

Jimin looked close to crying, shaking his head again for good measure. “I swear, she doesn’t. She shouldn’t-”

“-we worked out an alibi,” Namjoon added pressingly, “we wouldn’t-”

A ringtone went off. A brief moment of exchanging looks, ended with all of them looking at Jimin. He pulled out his ringing phone and let the expression on his face fall. Suhee was calling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Sadly, this time Seokjin didn't get the chance to reach his phone.   
> Let me know your thoughts!


	6. Hello Strangers, what about colours?

### [The Same Corner of the Story]

The door closed behind Namjoon and Jimin as they went to answer the call with Suhee outside the apartment. With no belongings left in the room aside from the envelope maybe, there was nothing Seokjin could think of that would make them want to return after answering Suhee's call.

“I’m sorry, Seokjin,” Hoseok said in the first beat of silence after the married couple left.

Seokjin had to look back at the table to find a hunched down Hoseok holding his gaze despite seeming unsure. He looked scared. The others also looked scared. Seokjin not immediately responding made it suddenly very apparent that him not forgiving them could be an outcome.

But what Hoseok had said previously was remarkable. He had acted to protect the younger ones against whatever he thought Seokjin's demons were. That must have scared him too. The way he’s looking at Seokjin right now- could it be the same look Suhee received when she threatened him?

_How dare she even talk to one of his brothers like that? How dare she intrude is such an invasive, inconsiderate as some low-life, no-morality carrying ugly human be-_

“We’re also sorry,” Taehyung said, catching Seokjin’s attention. Taehyung held hands with Jungkook and it seemed like that was his way of hiding how afraid he was. “We acted out of fear and selfishness. I never imagined you to be alone. We never wanted that, but we failed you. I’m so sorry,” Taehyung said, his voice sounding hoarse. Seokjin had to avoid his eyes, seeing as they began to grow moist.

Yoongi got up at that, and left the table. He walked over to the kitchen, behind the backs of the other three, in full sight from Seokjin’s position.

Oh, Seokjin thought, Yoongi didn’t want to be part of this apology round.

Focussing back on the three hanging their heads in shame, Seokjin did the same.

“I hear what you say,” Seokjin started. He knew what he should say to make this all go away and to end this quickly and easily for everyone. No one wanted to deal with how he felt. _He_ didn’t want to deal with how he felt. But that was the thing, right? Just because he felt like ignoring the aches underneath his chest, didn’t mean he should. “I can’t say I forgive you without lying. It would take time. But I understand what you’re saying.”

Involuntary, he turned his gaze to Yoongi. There was no such thing as reading each other’s mind, but Yoongi gave Seokjin an answer to a question he didn’t even know he needed. Yoongi nodded his head in reassurance to what Seokjin just said.

“We understand, Seokjin,” Hoseok said, “we can-”

The door burst open and Jimin stepped in followed by Namjoon. They looked frazzled and not happy. Very dissatisfied. Their energy clashed with the nearing serene tone of the room, and Seokjin wondered if they’d ever be compatible as a group, and in what context that would be. Maybe they wouldn’t and he should stop pushing his giddy wishes.

“How did it go?” Jungkook asked.

Jimin's eyes were red and his cheeks were puffy with dried up tears. His make-up still looked good, though. He looked pointedly at Namjoon.

“Well, she’s unto us,” Namjoon said unceremoniously, “don’t worry,” he said before anyone could butt in, “She doesn’t know where we are. But we... we should leave soon if we want it to stay like that.”

Once again Seokjin observed how a conversation unravelled in front of his eyes. Yes, these guys do not know each other that well, but somehow, despite the conflicting opinions, their converse was quick. It had a tempo that allowed pauses to be filled with implicated understandings, that at times went over Seokjin’s head. Was he missing something? Was it that one year that made him this disconnected? Or was it his headache just returning?

Though, their conversation was kind of awkward:

“No, for real- keep that here. Use it however you want.” Namjoon said on the envelope.

“We’ll make up for it,” Yoongi said in response, “I promise.”

“And now?” someone asked at some point.

“Yeah, we still have things to talk about though,” Hoseok said, “like are you sure Suhee’s threats are empty?” 

They started talking, but no one really responded to that. 

“We can reconnect through the group chat, right?” Jungkook said at some point, seeing as Namjoon and Jimin had to leave and that the rest would soon follow.

“To be honest, I still don’t really understand everything,” Taehyung said in the midst of things, “Seokjin are you good now? Are you good to be on your own?”

“Seokjin, you don’t need to be alone, you can be with us,” Namjoon added.

“While that manager is still working for you?” Jungkook countered.

“I know. I’d wish we’d meet under different circumstances,” Jimin sighted.

“We can,” Hoseok said, powerful. “We will.”

“I still don’t have a phone though,” Namjoon muttered.

“We can make it work. We can-”

“-I think I want to be alone for a while,” Seokjin interrupted their streak and felt an involuntary fond smile form upon seeing their genuinely confused faces. “Don’t worry. It’s not- I’m not mad. I think I need some time away from… I’m sorry. I needed answers, I found them. I need some space.”

No one said anything, standing still in their varying positions all changing their looks from confused to worried or wary. Accepting their stunned expressions for what it was, Seokjin got up and went over to collect his jacket, compulsory checking for the cigarette pack: secure.

“You won’t shut them out, right?” Yoongi spoke up.

Seokjin couldn’t help but huff at that. Of course Yoongi would trap him like that. Seokjin turned around and saw the anticipation on all their faces. _Come on, Seokjin, see? They care about you. They care. They care. They-_ “Of course,” _I won’t do what you did to me_ , “Seriously, don’t worry.”

They didn’t like that answer. But Seokjin had nothing better.

Seokjin walked his soulmates to their car. Jimin held Seokjin’s hand in a fierce grip all the way. Namjoon’s shoulders were tense as he strode purposefully. Yoongi had already stated he’d drive Seokjin home, which Seokjin immediately agreed to. Maybe Jimin was holding onto Seokjin so tightly because he was afraid of the argument awaiting him in the car ride.

“Namjoon,” Seokjin said when they reached the car. The head of the bond turned around, “don’t be so angry at Jimin.”

His shoulders shagged, and he sighted. “I’m not angry at Jimin. I’m angry at-” _the world, the pain in his heart_ , like he’d explained Seokjin the other day when they’d been in the car, “-at myself, and Suhee. And us. But it’s not because of hate. It’s because of love. I’m not filled with hatred.”

Seokjin nodded, glad to hear Namjoon formulate his thoughts so clearly. 

It was time to say goodbye. Jimin squeezed in Seokjin's hand before letting go to embrace him. This was what felt good. Seokjin would never get enough of this. Namjoon soon followed and they stayed like that for a moment. It was warm here. It tugged at his heart, and no he was not giving in. He was not going to get used to this. Not when nothing felt right outside this embrace.

“I’m happy we got to talk,” Jimin said after they’d kissed goodbye, and right before they closed their car door, “Thank you for putting this together, Seokjin”

It wasn’t until the engine stopped that Seokjin realised that he had led Yoongi all the way to his place, and not just the bus top.

It was on this street that the thugs had showed up.

Seokjin balled up his fists and thought of ways to exit the car, what to say, how to now look for his phone and keys at the store and ask another free day from Sejin to properly breakdown.

“You live here?” Yoongi asked, peering out of the window at the gas station.

Side-eying him, Seokjin asked “Got a problem with that?”

“No, no. Of course not. It’s just a.. a gas station and you, you know”

“No I don’t know, Yoongi. What are you trying to say,” Seokjin said, growing tired.

“You smoke. It’s dangerous. Explosions and stuff.”

Seokjin chuckled. “And you talk because you quit right? How is that working for you?”

“Good. It’s cheaper.”

“I get mine for free.”

They fell silent and Yoongi slipped his hands from the steering wheel and leaned back. “Seokjin I-”

“-did you ever trust me?”

“I did. I do,” Yoongi answered immediately.

“Then what have we done, Yoongi?” Seokjin whispered.

“I don’t know. I messed everything up,” Yoongi said just as dejected, “I tried to be responsible like you. Make tough decisions even if it makes everyone hate me.”

“Why did you…” Seokjin stopped as he heard his own voice raising. He didn’t want to go there.

“You can say it, Seokjin,” Yoongi murmured. “I deserve it. Be angry,” he huffed, “punch me.”

“I won’t,” Seokjin said with tempered energy, “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want you to know how- how much this is eating me.”

“I do. And you do too,” Yoongi’s voice took a sharp tone, “who am I for you to be walking on eggshells? I ruined your life, Seokjin. You shouldn’t consider me as your brother.”

“How could you say that?” Seokjin said indignant, his voice breaking and his head hurting with how much he wanted Yoongi to freaking understand, “How could you think like that? Don’t you understand how important you are to me?”

Yoongi shook his head. “I’m not. Really, I’m not. You got other more-”

“Yes you fucking are,” Seokjin said growling, “and yes I want to punch you in the face again, Yoongi. How could you be so so- reckless? You are the only person who knows me the most on this entire planet. I trusted you. I trusted you so much, I never imagined you’d hurt me like this,” Seokjin had to pause and put his thoughts in order, and lower his intensity. “I never wanted this,” he continued daring for something more truthful, “I didn’t want to trust you, I didn’t want to burden you like that- but you convinced me, you talked to me, you made me believe that we are brothers. And that was not stupid of me, because you have proven me time and time again to be the best person in the world. You have been there for me more than anyone else in my entire life. You are my best friend, Yoongi,” he said and looked Yoongi directly in the eyes. All the hurt that dripped of his own voice was reflected in how frightened Yoongi suddenly seemed. But Seokjin pushed himself to continue, “You mean so much to me. But then… you made me feel so little,” Seokjin coughed, trying to clear his throat, “… so little. You gave me another reason to hate myself. And that’s not fair. I never wanted this, and I didn’t mean to scare you. I-…” Seokjin exhaled, and quickly wiped away his tears, “I just hate myself so much, it tires me. Can’t you see I’m not that strong? Can’t you see that I’ve always needed you?”

“I...,” Yoongi stopped before he even really started. And Seokjin wanted him to talk, to openly share what he was thinking, without trying to sound logical. He wanted to know what Yoongi felt, without having to guess, because he knew he’d get it all wrong. He wanted to believe he’d be all wrong when his brain supplied thoughts of Yoongi being too frightened of him, done with him, and hating him. Seokjin’s own thinking was too self-centred. He needed to hear from Yoongi himself. “I’m so sorry,” Yoongi said gravely.

Yoongi closed his mouth and Seokjin waited.

But nothing more came.

Seokjin had to look away and manage his tears again, sniffing away what had been building up. From across the streets he could see Sejin standing in front of the store. He leaned against the building, sucking up on a cigar rather than a cigarette. Sejin was eying their car with suspicion.

“I want you to know that in my heart I never threw you away or disregarded you as my brother,” over the rhythm of Yoongi’s voice a lone car passed by and scared away a pigeon. Sejin puffed out some smoke. Seeing that didn’t make Seokjin want to smoke, especially not something as strong as that. He felt sick, and Yoongi's words didn’t help. They made him feel more ruminative, adding to his never ending headache. “I pictured a moment where everyone is happy and doing well,” Yoongi continued, “Taehyung and Jungkook together. Hoseok and his soulmate together. You with yours. When we all left the dorm, it started happening. That picture was taking form. Or at least I thought so. I thought if everyone is happy then it wouldn’t hurt so much. But...”

“Hoseok never went to the register,” Seokjin filled in.

“Yeah,” Yoongi agreed, “for some reason he’s afraid to meet his soulmate. And Taehyung and Jungkook didn’t know how to resolve problems on their own. And all of them in their own way hate me for this entire mess. But I thought that I was protecting them from people like Suhee, and that on top of that you’d be happy too. With your soulmates. So, whenever you’d reach out over text and stuff, I’d shoot it down thinking it was the best for everyone.”

“Everyone except for yourself,” Seokjin said glancing over his shoulder back at Yoongi. Yoongi seemed surprised at Seokjin’s remark. “In this perfect picture of yours, where are you? Who’s with you?”

“I... you all have soulmates, Seokjin. It goes like that.”

“You think we’d leave you behind because of our soulmates?”

“It-it goes like that,” Yoongi repeated stumbling over his words, “It would have happened later if not now.”

“And you say you never disregarded me,” Seokjin questioned.

Yoongi bit his tongue. “I don’t want to say anything wrong, Seokjin. I don’t want to worsen this. What do you want me to-”

“Be honest and say what you want to say,” Seokjin fully turned back to Yoongi. “Say what you want, from me, from us. What do you want for yourself out of all of this?”

“I- I don’t want you to shut them out. I want you to live a happy life and them too. I don’t want to be in the way of any-”

“And what about us? You don’t want to be my friend?”

Yoongi shook his head, an appalled look on his face. “I do, I do,” Yoongi murmured.

“Let me ask this again then; did you ever trust me? Did you trust me to be your friend?” 

“Yes, of course,” Yoongi said with a waver in his voice, but quickly enough. He didn’t need to think about that question. “All that you just said about how you- you think of me. You need to know I love you too. I just never know how to say it or when to say it, brother. I really don’t want you to think I’m disregarding you. I just don’t want to stand in your way. And I guess I’m wrong. About a lot of things. I just don’t want to make it worse. So please, if you’re angry be so at me but don’t shut them out.”

But that last part wasn’t the point. Yoongi didn’t seem to understand Seokjin’s questions, or maybe he just wasn’t saying what Seokjin wanted to hear. It was sad seeing him struggle like this. It was disheartening to see him think so little about himself. “Okay. I understand what you’re saying. You don’t have to worry about me shutting them out,” Seokjin said, no longer wanting to press the matter. “Still and all, I love you too. Don’t forget that,” Seokjin said to have him at least remember that.

Sejin didn’t ask questions. They were sitting on the curb, closer than they’d ever been, thighs touching. Yoongi was gone, and the street was theirs again. No lingering strangers, just them two breathtakers staring down at the road that goes to the big city. The sun was lowering, and it’s actually been a really really long day.

Sejin didn’t ask questions, but he seemed worried. He had rushed and given Seokjin all his things, muttering that his phone had gone off a lot. After that Sejin had shoved Seokjin a lighter and a cigarette, saying: “Here, take a drag. It will help.”

But like the rest of the day, Seokjin felt too nauseous to smoke. He suddenly hated how the smell clinged on him.

He didn’t have it in him to say no to a presented cigarette though.

So he lit it up and toyed it between two fingers. See, he didn’t lose his touch. If only his fingers could just stop trembling, then maybe he’d be able to enjoy this. If only he could will them into submission and take one drag and remember that he lived for the burn. He lived for this. He needed to just-

It slipped from between his fingers, right before his lips could kiss the tip. It burned his shoe nose and then fell on the road.

“Fuck, Seokjin, come here,” Sejin ushered closer, and without looking up through his watery vision, Seokjin found himself in an embrace. Sejin was bigger than Seokjin, bigger than Namjoon and Jimin and Yoongi. Sejin fully enveloped him and pressed him hard against his shoulders. “Let it out, Seokjin. Come on, it’s okay. Those guys aren’t here anymore.”

That’s right. Neither the thugs nor his guys were here anymore. It scared him so much, he could feel it in his bones. He could feel it usher through his entire body. It made him rock, and then finally give in. Like a puddle of misunderstandings and aimless hope Seokjin started bawling in Sejin’s shoulder.

### [Another corner of the story]

Head down, marching forward.

“Kim Namjoon! Kim Namjoon! Kim Jimin, can one of you give us a statement on the rumours regarding infidelity. Namely you, Kim Namjoon- you were seen with another man at-”

Namjoon was glad to have Jimin keeping him close and shielding him mostly from all the camera’s and reporters. Jimin’s walk was powerful and on par with their security team.

“-it true that you have legal disputes with your company?”

The walk from the car to the airport terminal seemed endless. Reminiscent of how long the few days had been since they’d last seen Seokjin.

“-any comments on the rumours questioning the legitimacy of your bond?”

Jimin squeezed his hand. Almost there.

“-why did you cancel most of your upcoming appearances?”

They had to stop and turn around to bow towards the press. It felt like shifting weights.

“-divorcing. Are you siding with naturalists and looking for wives?”

Jimin took the lead, pressing a bright smile on his face after they’d bowed. “Thank you for coming here and supporting us. We’ll go and come back safely.”

Taehyung had difficulty keeping a straight face. “You know, it’s not like I’m dying,” he said. Jungkook was running around in their apartment trying to find all the things they needed for a walk outside. Taehyung had been inside all day long and had waited for Jungkook to come back from work, so that they could take a nice stroll around. And Jungkook took this very seriously. He was ten minutes later than usual and was now rushing to break Taehyung out as fast as possible. It was endearing.

He patted Taehyung’s hat for the third time, confirming that he had tucked him in, in at least three layers.

“Okay,” Jungkook said. “I think we can go.”

“Release me from this tower,” Taehyung said dramatically and let Jungkook pull him out of the chair.

The wheelchair was already in the foyer. Their apartment complex had no elevator. Good thing they lived on the first floor. Jungkook and Taehyung managed by leaning on each other.

Once in the wheelchair and with a supplementary blanket covering his legs and cast, they were ready to go.

Feeling the cold November air clashing with Taehyung’s face, made him grateful for Jungkook’s over stressing.

Jungkook pushed him the three blocks it took to the park. Upon seeing the entrance, Taehyung’s heart skipped a beat.

“Jungkook what is this?” he whispered.

Jungkook ignored him and continued pushing him forward.

Getting closer gave Taehyung all the time he needed to process what layed out in front of him. He clasped his hand in front of his gaping mouth and felt a warm sensation rush through him.

GET WELL SOON TEACHER TAE!

“Your class worked on it this week,” Jungkook said and paused before they entered the park. The banner hung on top of the entrance. “Some of the kids and their parents are in the park playing around. You could say hello and see how they’re doing, or we can just walk around somewhere else.”

Around the big words wishing Taehyung well were the names of his class pupils written in scrawny handwritings with different colours and small drawings.

“This is so sweet,” Taehyung squealed.

Jungkook laughed, “You like it?”

“Yes, yes!” Taehyung bounced in the chair, already resting his hands on the wheels to usher forward, “let’s go see how they’re doing!”

“Okay, let me get my phone, I’m going to send Seokjin a picture.”

“ _Hey, Yoongi. It’s Hoseok, again. This is crazy and you know it. I don’t even know if you listen to these. I get that you’re busy and all, but at least react to the messages I send you. We live in the same house, yet you’re rarely here. You should cut back on all the working, I don’t understand why you took up that third job. It’s not like we're paying for the settlement ourselves. It’s just… I’m worried, man. I hardly see you and I heard you’ve been ignoring Tae and Jungkook as well. I will repeat this until you get it through, but no one hates you. We love you and miss you. Get home soon, and wake me up when you do. I’ll try to stay up, but wake me up even if I fall asleep. I’m not going anywhere tomorrow, so don’t worry. I eh.. I wanted to talk about my soulmate. Like, maybe I should just go to the register. I don’t know. I want to talk about this with you first... Anyways, let me know. React to this voicemail, my messages, or the notes in the kitchen- dang I just realised I don’t even have you on email! Would that work? Ha! I know you’re a grandpa, but even you can get with the times, yeah? But I’ll write you an email, if that’s what it takes._ ”

### [Seokjin’s Reddit Post: “It’s been a while, right?”]

Hello friends on the internet! How are you doing? I hope all is well.

I want to start off by saying thank you. Your insight has helped me a lot, it made me think more about where I put myself in relation to my brothers and soulmates. And also life actually, (yeah I went there haha).

I guess I’ll just update you on the situation: so yes, my soulmates, friends and I all had a conversation on what went wrong. A lot of things came to light after that conversation. It wasn’t easy, at times they said some hurtful things. But the conclusion is this: my brothers were under wrong impressions regarding my situation and past. They thought that me and my soulmates were together, and the opposite was thought by my soulmates. They thought I’d been with my brothers all this time. The reason for this lies in my soulmates’ middleman (remember?). Let’s call the middle man Karen. She somehow managed to play into the insecurities of my brothers and myself. In the end it was a relief when my soulmates shared with us that Karen had been fired. Another result of our conversation is that my brothers and soulmates keep me up to date on their lives in separate group chats. It’s kinda funny to see their pictures and read the random messages. Not all of them are as active, but it feels nice.

And you might have noticed from the tone of this; but it had been a couple of weeks since the conversation. I haven’t seen them since. And it feels kinda okay, and I’m not sure why it’s okay now and not before all of this. (maybe I was just feeling too paranoid when I started writing these posts haha). I’m thinking about reconnecting in real life with them around Christmas. But I put no pressure behind it. I’ll just wait and see, I guess.

In the meantime, I’ve been working a lot, and started talking a lot more with my boss at work. We even took a trip to the park (that was kinda weird, but nice despite the cold weather). He shared with me that his favourite colour is purple. Mine is pink. What is yours? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts. Besides that, as a lot of things are happening, take care everyone.
> 
> As stated before: see if you can respond to Seokjin’s Reddit post I will be picking responses for in the next chapter. The formatting in the comments for this is as follows: [TO REDDIT OP: {insert your response}]
> 
> ~On the previous chapter ~  
> Something I forgot to mentioned in the previous chapter, concerning respect. In my culture it is considered very impolite to talk about someone older without addressing them when they're in the same room. So the guys in the previous chapter having their discussion and mentioning Seokjin's name so freely, would have earned me a slap to the head ö. So taking that as a bit of cultural inspiration, formed his first statements after a while, demanding to be addressed with respect.


End file.
